OSCE Mission to Skopje supports study tour for Border Police Officers to Slovenia

SKOPJE, 2 February 2007 - Border Police are now better equipped to handle illegal border crossings and organized crime, thanks to skills gained during a two-week training tour to Slovenia supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

The 42 officers studied European standards on integrated border management, detecting illegal migration and human trafficking during the trip, which ended today.

"For a country that aspires to join the European Union, it is important to adjust border security to European standards. The knowledge obtained during this trip will help the Border Police adhere to EU security conventions," said Pierre Chassagne, Acting Head of the Police Development Unit at the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje.

Jovanco Asprovski, a participant who is the Adviser at the Border Police's Unit for Combating Illegal Migration and Inter-Border Crimes, added:

"We learned new techniques how to identify illegal migration, human trafficking and migrants smuggling. As a result, we will be able to deal with organized crime more effectively."

The project, supported jointly by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje, local and Slovenian Ministries of Interior and Slovenian Embassy in Skopje will improve a strategy in fighting illegal border crossing at the state borders.