OSCE Office in Tajikistan

Established in 2009, the OSCE Border Management Staff College is the first international centre dedicated to the professional advancement of senior border officials. It is located in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe in the heart of Central Asia, a region that faces many border security challenges.

The College’s goal is to strengthen co-operation and increase the professional capacities of senior border security and management officials from the 57 OSCE participating States and 11 Partners for Co-operation, with an emphasis on Central Asia and Afghanistan. It works in three distinct areas: learning and knowledge-sharing; research and development; and outreach.

The Border Management Staff Course is a one-month long training programme organized by the College three times a year to train senior border officials on the latest border management techniques, best practices in the OSCE region and challenges faced by the OSCE participating States in trying to ensure and promote open and secure borders.

The College’s Research and Development Centre works to promote and develop a demand-driven and practice-oriented research on border security and management. It serves as an information hub for international border management institutions and scholars active in the area and comprises an extensive reference and training library and on-demand research capacities on border security and management issues.

In an effort to expand the knowledge of officials on border management and security questions, the College regularly organizes thematic seminars and outreach events on topics such as national border management strategies; false travel documents; hazardous waste movement; terrorism and human rights issues; combating trafficking in drugs and human beings; countering illegal regional cross-border activities; anti-corruption, migration and border conflict management.

To give access to the latest and most modern training techniques, technology and methodologies, the College has created partnerships with key international stakeholders working in the area of border security and management that comprise the Academic Advisory Board of the College and a consortium of national training institutes. This network helps ensure that the best international standards and educational practices find their way into the College’s training curricula. It also allows the College to work as a platform for dialogue on security co-operation and international border security legislation.