OSCE Border Management Staff College addresses counter-terrorism and human rights

A 5-day workshop for border officials on counter-terrorism and human rights organized by the OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) started in Vilnius on 17 October 2011.

The event, co-sponsored by the Lithuanian Government and hosted by the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service, has gathered together mid-ranking officers from border and anti-terrorism agencies from Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovakia and Ukraine.

Experts and practitioners from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Anti-Terrorism Unit, the United Kingdom, the OSCE Secretariat, the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights will present a picture of contemporary terrorism patterns and trends as well as concrete examples of responses.

The participants will learn about the OSCE’s multi-dimensional approach to security and to the necessary balance between countering terrorism and protecting human rights. OSCE human rights commitments will be examined in the context of the fight against terrorism.

The BMSC is an OSCE training institution based in Dushanbe, established in 2009 as the first international centre for the specialist training of senior border officials.