UNIPATH STAFF
Central Asian border and customs officials attending the Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, have learned one overarching lesson: Improving security and increasing trade requires a regional approach.
The border college, inaugurated in 2009 by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is the first international center to bring together border professionals to exchange information and best practices.
One highlight at the college has been a program, financed by Austria, called “Strengthening the Customs Administration of Afghanistan.” The program ended in late 2013, but not before it had trained 255 customs officials from Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
College Director Henryk Raczkowski praised the initiative for helping to “contribute to economic development in the whole Central Asian region.” He was seconded by Afghan Director General of Customs Najibullah Wardak, who said he hoped such cooperation would continue in the future.
In November 2013, the border college hosted a five-day workshop for about 30 mid- and senior-ranking customs officers from Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.
The workshop is one in a series of capacity-building seminars based on best practices from the OSCE and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Focusing on using nonintrusive inspection technologies and risk-assessment systems, participants jointly determined how to improve custom controls to separate legitimate business people from criminals and other security risks.
“A risk-based management approach helps distinguish compliant and legitimate businesses from potentially noncompliant traders, based on selectivity and profiling,” OSCE economic adviser Roel Janssens said. “It empowers officials to ensure customs enforcement, security and trade facilitation at the same time.”
Source: OSCE