OSCE Office in Tajikistan trains Afghan Border Police in tactical patrolling and surveillance
DUSHANBE, 11 November 2011 – Officers from the Afghan Border Police successfully completed an eight-week Patrol Leadership Course at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan today.
Ten officers were trained in map reading and navigation, as well as patrol and surveillance techniques, with the aim of enhancing border security along the Tajik-Afghan border. A special session focused on the history and practice of human rights protection, as well as gender concerns within a comprehensive security framework. The training programme is based on a similar project that the OSCE Office has provided for Tajik border guard officers since 2009. The course was conducted at the Border Guard Directorate’s training centre in Hissar, 20 kilometres west of Dushanbe.
"The course developed by the OSCE Office provides the necessary skills and knowledge to help Afghan Border Police detect and counter illegal movement across the Tajik-Afghan border, which will contribute to both countries’ border management and security, and to the region’s efforts to counter transnational threats," said Ambassador Ivar Vikki, the Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.
Course participant Hamid Ahmad Noorzad, who graduated as best of class, said: “The opportunity to attend this OSCE course here in Tajikistan has taught us practical skills, such as map reading and climbing techniques, that make us better prepared as border police officers."
Representatives of embassies and international organizations and partners, as well as representatives of the Border Guard Directorate of Tajikistan, attended today’s ceremony marking the end of the course.
The course was funded by the United States and led by two trainers from the Russian Federation and the US.
In addition to the Patrol Leadership Course, the ten border police officers will complete a ten-day field medicine course, starting next week, before returning to Afghanistan.