Cross-border research conference concludes at OSCE Border Management Staff College

Stanislav Philippov, Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Procedure Department of the National Academy of the State Border Service of Ukraine, presents research findings on criminological issues of cross-border migration at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe, 1 May 2017. (OSCE/Eraj Asadulloev)

DUSHANBE, 4 May 2017 - The fourth Cross-Border Research Conference on “the Dilemma of Migration” concluded today at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

“This event served as a forum for researchers and practitioners to discuss their most recent findings and experiences related to trends in contemporary migration and the issues of migration that became especially acute in the last decade,” said Dita Nowicka, the Director of the OSCE Border Management Staff College.

The event brought together 20 researchers and mid- to senior-level officials from border security and management agencies of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Ukraine and the United States as well as representatives of academia, regional and international organizations, including the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The discussion covered research findings and practitioner presentations focusing on the definition, classification, types, causes, routes of migration as well as the legal aspects of dealing with migration. Also highlighted were the differences between legal and illegal migration; issues of managing refugee flows and ensuring the basic rights and freedoms of migrants; best practices in migration policies of various states as well as correlation between migration and transnational threats such as organized crime, terrorism and foreign terrorist fighters and the trafficking in human beings.

“The value of such a forum for a scholar is in the opportunity to broaden the horizons of one’s academic pursuits, learn about the experience of researchers from other countries as well as finding out more about the best practices in countering cross-border threats, applied by different states,” said Stanislav Philippov, Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Procedure Department of the National Academy of the State Border Service of Ukraine.