OSCE trains border officers in Uzbekistan in identifying suspected terrorists and other criminals

From 25 to 28 November, the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department and the Border Troops and Customs Committee of Uzbekistan held a national training course for border and customs officers to identify suspected foreign terrorist fighters and other criminals at border crossings.

“We must be mindful of cross-border threats related to movement of foreign terrorist fighters, drugs, artifacts, human, organ and other forms of trafficking. This training was a great opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge in their identification at the borders and develop new skills in this area,” said Zakirov Bekhzod, Deputy Head of the Customs Department for the Samarkand Region of Uzbekistan.

The 18 first- and second-line border and customs officers participated in practical exercises and were trained on identity management, crisis management, methods for detecting illicit small arms and light weapons, and techniques for preventing trafficking in human beings. The course also included a site visit to “Jartepa”, an Uzbek-Tajik border checkpoint, where in-person demonstrations of specialized equipment and operational procedures for inspecting passengers and cargos took place.

The training course was delivered by seven members of Uzbekistan’s National Mobile Training Team (NMTT). This was their second deployment mission since completing their own training with the OSCE in 2023, where they had learned from international experts from Belgium and the United Kingdom as well as members of the OSCE-led Mobile Training Team from North Macedonia. Training materials were provided by the OSCE and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.

These activities are part of the OSCE extra-budgetary project “Strengthening the resilience of Uzbekistan to address cross-border challenges emanating from Afghanistan”, funded by Germany, Sweden and the United States of America. The NMTT plans to carry out further training courses in 2025 at pre-selected border checkpoints throughout Uzbekistan.