OSCE border college holds seminar on land mines and border security

DUSHANBE, 13 July 2010 - A four-day seminar on land mines and border security challenges started at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe today.

Twenty-three participants from the border and customs services and the Ministries of Defence and Interior from Afghanistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are taking part in the course, which was organized with the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

"The seminar will give participants the chance to exchange experiences from different theatres including the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia and learn about the latest technological advances in this area. They will also take part in a field visit to a minefield technical survey site on the border with Afghanistan for a demonstration of different mine extraction methods," said Alain Scolan, the Principal of the OSCE Border Management Staff College.

The seminar is taught by experts from the Russian Operational Border Group in Tajikistan, the International Trust Fund, the EU-UNDP Border Management in Badakhshan and Afghanistan programme and the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

This seminar is part of the college's outreach initiative, which aims to promote best practices in border security and management. A study on land mines and implications for border security based on the seminar will be produced by the College for use by the OSCE participating States and Partner for Co-operation countries.