From principles to practice: 20 years of border security and management in the OSCE

The OSCE Month of Borders was launched in September with a series of high-level events to mark 20 years since the adoption of the OSCE Border Security and Management Concept (BSM Concept) by the OSCE Ministerial Council in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2005.

The Month’s opening session on 12 September highlighted two decades of the OSCE’s work on border security management. Speakers included Matti Sarasmaa, Permanent Secretary from the Finnish Ministry of the Interior, Ambassador Alena Kupchyna, OSCE Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats, Shawn Decaluwe, Deputy Director for Operations Service of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and Aleška Simkić, EU Ambassador to Kazakhstan, who was the first Secretary of the Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the OSCE at the time of the adoption of the Concept. They underscored that the BSM Concept remains as relevant today as it was in 2005 and is a reflection of the OSCE’s continued commitment to peace and stability.

A panel at the opening session featured representatives of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Tajik Border Troops, the OSCE-Led Mobile Training Team and the Border Management Staff College who discussed emerging transnational threats, crisis response at the borders and human rights-based BSM. They also explored opportunities for future co-operation between the OSCE and national border services.

On 15 September, an event on ‘Shifting Tides of Border Security and Trafficking: Maritime and Riverine Challenges, Responses and Opportunities’ provided a platform to discuss maritime and riverine security, which is an area of growing strategic importance shaped by expanding trade, emerging technologies and evolving criminal tactics. Speakers included Ambassador Neil Holland, Chair of the OSCE Security Committee, Siv Katrine Leirtroe, Head of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Border Security Management Unit (TNTD/BSMU), and experts from the Netherlands Special Maritime Operations, Heritage Malta, Spain’s Guardia Civil Maritime Unit, as well as representatives of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

The event also featured a panel discussion with the speakers on illicit trafficking of cultural property, irregular migration flows and cyber-attacks on port infrastructure. They shared good practices in capacity-building and opportunities for international co-operation to ensure secure, resilient and sustainably managed maritime borders. Participants also had a chance to experience a virtual reality dive into the sea where they could explore heritage sites around Malta that are at risk of looting and trafficking. TNTD/BSMU reported that the OSCE-Led Heritage Crime Task Force supported participating States in mapping trafficking networks across Ukraine and Central Asia, and provided expert assistance in seizing over 2000 trafficked or stolen objects valued at approximately 27 million euros — money that would otherwise have ended up in the hands of organized crime groups, terrorists and other criminal actors.

The Month of Borders concluded on 23 September with an event on ‘Travel Security and Technology Innovation: Safeguarding Borders in the Digital Age’, followed by an OSCE Security Committee meeting addressing achievements, challenges and future directions in the field of BSM. The discussion of the thematic event focused on threats to travel document security, the use of biometrics and strengthening Advance Passenger Information systems. Speakers highlighted lessons from Ukraine’s resilience in maintaining document security during wartime, the UK’s biometric border innovations and regional co-operation to improve passenger data systems and counter transnational crime.

The Month of Borders was organized by the 2025 OSCE Finnish Chairpersonship and the United Kingdom 2025 Chair of the OSCE Security Committee, in co-operation with the OSCE TNTD/BSMU. This is part of the OSCE’s continued efforts to support participating States in advancing their border-related work across the OSCE area, and to set the stage for future work, emphasizing innovation, enhanced co-operation and continued commitment to efficient border security and management.