OSCE Border Security and Management Unit organizes seminar on delimitation and demarcation practices in OSCE Area

A two-day seminar on delimitation and demarcation practices in the OSCE area concluded on 16 November 2018 in Athens. The event was jointly organized by the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece.

Some thirty eight officials and experts from sixteen participating States took part in this interactive seminar. Specific bilateral experiences in co-operation related to delimitation and demarcation practices from across the OSCE area were presented to the participants. . They also discussed past and on-going border demarcation and delimitation processes and exchanged lessons learned and good practices in this field. In addition, they engaged in a practical exercise, based on a fictional scenario on boundary delimitation, demarcation and management by identifying ways to manage poorly demarcated borders .  

The seminar marked the launch of the English version of the Guidebook on Delimitation and Demarcation Practices in the OSCE Area, developed by the Border Security and Management Unit with the support of national experts Zenonas Kumetaitis of Lithuania and Alexander Arkhipov of Belarus. The Russian version of the Guidebook was launched in 2017 in Minsk, Belarus.

“This seminar, which launched the English guidebook on border delimitation and demarcation practices, is the culmination of sustained and successful collaboration across the OSCE area. The participants’ enthusiastic embrace of this guidebook inspires us to continue our work in this important area,” said Dennis Cosgrove, Head of the Border Security and Management Unit.

Challenges regarding delimitation and demarcation remain high on the agenda of the OSCE, as it was reiterated by the participating States in a number of fora in 2018. This event is the eighth seminar on this topic and builds on the success and recommendations of the previous events.