OSCE Border Management Staff College concludes its fourteenth Staff Course

Zamira Makhkamova, Senior Inspector at Customs of Tajikistan, participates in a discussion on providing equal training opportunities and maintaining the same standards of competence and performance of female and male border security and management officers, Dushanbe, 23 October 2015. (OSCE/Eraj Asadulloev)

DUSHANBE, 30 October 2015 - The 14th Border Management Staff Course concluded at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe today, having trained participants on the principles and standards of the 2005 OSCE Border Security and Management Concept, covering the political-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects of security.

Participants from Afghanistan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine attended the course.

“The aim of the course was to consolidate participants’ knowledge about border-related challenges across the OSCE area, global effect of transnational threats, top- and middle-level management techniques, as well as intra-agency, inter-agency and international co-operation,” said Dita Nowicka, the Director of the OSCE Border Management Staff College. She noted that the Staff Course represents an opportunity to promote co-operation between border security managers from across the OSCE region.

Illar Jogi, Lieutenant Colonel, Head of Border Guard Vasknarva station at Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, said: “Peace and co-operation are vital elements in securing borders. The 14th Staff Course represents a united group of dedicated professionals able to complete tasks of any complexity to ensure the security of our borders.”

The course included a research component which allowed participants to look into various current and future trends in border security and management, international conventions, agreements and other legal acts.

A roundtable discussion focusing on ways to increase the recruitment, retention and advancement of female border officers in order to address women’s under-representation in border security management was held as part of the course on 23 October.

Participants also had an opportunity to visit the nearby borders with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

Zamira Makhkamova, Senior Inspector at Customs Service under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, said: “The set of skills and competences that we got during the Staff Course is invaluable. Upon return to my workplace I’ll make sure that it is shared with my colleagues.”

To date, the one-month Border Management Staff Course has been attended by 345 commanders and managers of captain to colonel rank, or civilian equivalent.