Ukrainian and Belarusian Border Guards Study Integrated Border Management Techniques

A bilateral training on integrated border management techniques (IBM) involving 20 border guard officers from Belarus and Ukraine is held in Minsk on 4-6 November 2014 within the framework of the EU funded project SURCAP Phase II.

During their opening address the representatives of IOM, EU Delegation to Belarus and ICMPD highlighted the significance of border protection and timeliness of SURCAP II project implementation, especially taking into consideration the latest political developments in Ukraine.

It is expected that the training will familiarize the border guards of the two states with the legal framework regulating IBM principles at the international, inter-agency and intra-agency levels. The discussions will focus on the development and adoption of effective IBM strategies, as well as the successes and challenges in their application. The participants will also learn about the advantages of cooperation among border and customs authorities working at the border at the central, regional and local levels and have the opportunity to share the experiences from their respective countries. One of the trainers at the event is Mr. Petar Varagic, the international expert (representative of the Slovenian police), who will share his expertise in the field with the participants.

Background

This training is part of the European Union-funded project ‘Strengthening Surveillance and Bilateral Coordination Capacity along the Common Border between Belarus and Ukraine’ (SURCAP II). The project is being implemented by the International Organization on Migration (IOM) in partnership with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), which oversees the implementation of the project’s training component. The overall  objective of SURCAP II is to contribute to the enhancement of security levels on the Belarusian–Ukrainian border, to help improve international cooperation between the border services of the two beneficiary countries, and to help the beneficiary countries increase legal trade. The project beneficiaries are the border guard agencies from Belarus and Ukraine.