Irregular migration trends and patterns discussed at OSCE course for border officials

Scenario-based exercise. Dushanbe, 8 July 2014 (OSCE BMSC/Farhodjon Nabiyulloev)

DUSHANBE, 11 July 2014 – Taking a comprehensive approach in managing irregular migration and tackling problems of human trafficking on borders was the focus of a week-long training course that finished today at the OSCE Border Management Staff College.

The course brought together 24 mid- to senior-level officers from border security agencies of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Tunisia.

The course raised participant’s awareness on the ongoing efforts of OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation to mitigate the problem of irregular migration by reinforcing operational capacities and enhancing co-ordination between states.

“There is no country that never faced the challenges of migration. This is quite a complicated subject that needs to be approached carefully and with a thorough knowledge,” said Henryk Raczkowski, Director of the OSCE Border Management Staff College, as he addressed course graduates at the closing ceremony. “Most of you are professionals who meet vulnerable people whose destinies have taken them from one place to another. Remember that your decisions might affect their future. I hope that this course have provided you with the new instruments, tools, and best practices that will help you to effectively deal with your day-to-day migration-related challenges.”

During the course, participants learnt about the current and expected trends as well as international standards and regulations on irregular migration and human smuggling. There was a focus on topics such as illegal migration as a type of cross-border crime, human trafficking as a crime as well as the influence of these crimes on national security. They also learned about the most current IT technologies used in EU countries to identify forged biometric passports and intercepting the illegal movement of passengers in the Schengen area. The training sessions were fully interactive featuring group exercises and case study analysis.

Darijus Pamparas, Project Co-ordinator in Police Reform at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, said: “Improving border management policies and procedures supported by effective inter-agency and international co-operation, enhancing travel document security, employing high-level IT technologies, stopping those who organize irregular migration, sanctioning those who hire irregular labour force as well as a humane and effective return and readmission policy are the key factors for successfully managing the irregular migration phenomenon.”