OSCE-wide workshop in Vienna highlights best practices in delimitation and demarcation of borders

VIENNA, 3 November 2016 – A three-day OSCE-wide workshop on delimitation and demarcation practices, which brought together thirty senior ranking representatives of national boundary commissions from various OSCE participating States, concluded today in   Vienna. Discussions focused on the legal aspects of international boundaries and specific national experiences.

Attended by representatives from Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, participants shared their expertise and best delimitation and demarcation practices, and conducted a number of table top exercises.

They were supported by international and national experts from Belarus, Canada, Lithuania and the Netherlands.

“Border disputes are complex issues that may have roots going centuries in the past,” said the national expert from Lithuania, the former Head of the country’s State Boundary Commission, Zenonas Kumetaitis.  “Therefore it is important to know the history of and mentality of your own country and that of your neighbours, otherwise you end up repeating the same lessons again and again.”

Sven Koopmans, an independent expert on conflict resolution from the Netherlands, said: “It was encouraging to have such a lively discussion on creative ways to settle big and small border disputes. It proves the importance of the OSCE in providing a platform to tackle such complex issues.”

During the workshop participants visited the “Triplex” border point between Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

The discussions also served to further dialogue and exchange of views on technical issues related to delimitation and demarcation, and provided a solid basis for future OSCE support in this area. This includes follow-up regional seminars with the possible participation of an external expert to facilitate negotiation processes between interested OSCE participating States. 

This workshop is the fifth of its kind and builds on the success of the previous events organized by the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department since 2011.