OSCE and Spain’s Guardia Civil improves capacity of Ukraine’s border management agencies in combating illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW)

The OSCE, in partnership with the Guardia Civil of Spain, trained canine team instructors in detection of weapons, ammunition and explosives (WAE) through a four-month course to support Ukraine’s capacities in countering illicit trafficking of SALW.

The training of eight instructors, six from the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) and two from the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine, was held at the Guardia Civil Dog Training Centre (CADEPE) in Madrid and ended on 14 July. During the graduation ceremony, the Ukrainian canine instructors and their service dogs demonstrated their skills in the search for WAE.

Trainees went through over 600 hours of theoretical and practical sessions set up in a module-based training of trainers (ToT) programme delivered by experts from CADEPE, in accordance with European standards and best practices in product scent detection.

“The curriculum we used for the training of Ukrainian instructors proved its efficiency and is widely applied across the European Union. Focusing on WAE detection, our overall aim was to develop the ability of the course participants to analyze the training process and introduce corrective measures once a mistake in a dog’s or handler’s performance happens,” said Lt. Col. Guillermo Reyes, Head of CADEPE, in his address at the graduation ceremony.

Once back in Ukraine, the instructors will be integrating the skills taken from their Spanish colleagues into the national canine training programs of SBGS and SCS, aligning them with European Union standards.

Canine resources play a vital role in combating illicit trafficking of weapons, as well as other forms of organized crime such as drug smuggling. With the ongoing war against Ukraine, SALW-related threats can increase significantly, putting Europe at risk.

“Today, the illicit proliferation of SALW is a global security threat, fueling organized crime, terrorism, and armed conflicts. By supporting Ukraine and co-operating with the Guardia Civil in canine training, the OSCE contributes not only to strengthening Ukraine’s response to this threat but also to wider European security” said Shawn DeCaluwe, Chief of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation Support Unit, during his opening speech.

This initiative is a part of the project “In support of strengthening capacities of Ukrainian authorities in preventing and combating illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives in all its aspects”, funded by the European Union, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Slovakia. The project also receives in-kind support from Lithuania, Poland and Spain.