Twenty-five senior border officials from OSCE participating States and Partner for Co-operation countries started a one-month course on border security and management at the OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) today.

The course focuses on principles and standards of the OSCE Border Security and Management Concept, which covers all three dimensions of security, including the political-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects.

Representatives from border guard, customs and drug control agencies in Afghanistan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan and Ukraine are participating in the course.

“The BMSC is an important instrument for developing dialogue and co-operation between border officials from across the OSCE area and beyond. The success of our programs is proven by the growing interest in them and the increased number of countries represented here,” said Julia Klaus, Director

of the Border Management Staff College.

“Addressing transnational threats and challenges while promoting open and secure borders is crucial. I am glad the College contributes to this significant task of ensuring peace and stability throughout the OSCE region.”

During the Staff Course, participants will visit Tajik-Uzbek and Tajik-Afghan customs and border protection checkpoints as well as the customs area of the Dushanbe International Airport.

Since the launch of training programmes in May 2009, the BMSC has successfully conducted four Staff Courses for high-ranking officers and managers of border guard, customs and drug control agencies from 27 OSCE participating States and five Partners for Co-operation, including Afghanistan.