Crisis management, new challenges and enhanced co-ordination in border management focus of Central Asian Border Management Initiative 2020

The current global health crisis, associated challenges for border agencies in Central Asia and Afghanistan as well as the need to enhance co-ordination in the region, were the focus of the four-day Conference of the Central Asia Border Management Initiative (CABMI) held from 2 to 5 November.  

The Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department with the support of the OSCE Field Missions in Central Asia organized the online conference.

Barbara Schrotter, Head of Unit, International Relations, of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior, Liga Jermacane, Political Adviser, European External Action Service, and Alena Kupchyna, Co-ordinator of OSCE Activities to Address Transnational Threats delivered opening remarks.  

“Security threats have dramatically evolved over the last decades to transcend national boundaries and conventional borders. The effects of these threats have similarly expanded beyond security alone. Managing borders during a health crisis became an even more complex and challenging task,” said Kupchyna.

Twenty-five representatives from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan attending the conference elaborated on the persistent and emerging challenges in national border security and management.

Representatives from the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Central Asia provided an overview of their responses to the current health crisis.

Representatives from the OSCE Field Offices in the region, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 9), the IOM Sub-regional Coordinator for Central Asia, OSCE’s Border Management Staff College, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) as well as representatives from OSCE’s Border Security and Management Unit, presented ongoing international and bilateral initiatives in support to border security and management in Central Asia and Afghanistan.

During the interactive working groups, officials from border services in the region, together with representatives of international organizations, identified current needs for technical assistance in border security and management and developed recommendations for enhanced co-ordination among international, regional and bilateral actors.