Trafficking in Human Beings
Throughout 2010, the OS/Borders Team implemented a project aimed at enhancing the
capacity of the Psychological Support Service (PSS) of the State Border Committee (SBC) of
Belarus in providing first-hand psychological assistance to victims of human trafficking,
asylum seekers, refugees, and other categories of vulnerable persons crossing the border.
On 16-9 May, an assessment visit was jointly conducted by the OS/Borders Team, the
OSG/Press and Public Information Service, the OSR and a Polish Border Guard
Psychological Support Expert, in order to clarify, among other objectives, the necessity for
immediate and follow-up intervention in developing the PSS capacity. A range of study visits,
as follows, were organized for SBC psychologists with the purpose of learning best practices
and sharing practical experiences: Poland (19-23 July); the Russian Federation (29
November-3 December); and Ukraine (21-24 December). In addition, an international
seminar on the “Role of the Psychological Support Units in the Border Guard and Other Law
Enforcement Agencies” was conducted on 13 and 14 September in Minsk with the
participation of psychologists from Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Russian Federation
and Ukraine. Representatives of UNHCR, IOM, La Strada, and the Belorussian Red Cross
also participated. Finally, from the 22 November to 3 December, training for 25 SBC
psychologists was conducted by psychological trainers from the Polish Border Guard with the
participation of La Strada and the Belarusian Red Cross.
Drug Trafficking
Over the course of 2010, the OS/Borders Team supported patrolling and surveillance training
for Tajik Border Guards on techniques and tactics to detect and interdict organized illegal
cross border movements. The Border Service of Tajikistan officially recognized the
connection between this OSCE training and the interception of a large drug shipment from
across the border with Afghanistan in mid-2010. A project with similar objectives on capacity
building was negotiated with the Border Agency in Turkmenistan mid-year and awaited
funding.
Similarly, the OS/Borders Team supported the development of a curriculum for the Customs
Academy in Bishkek. The curriculum incorporates modules on the detection of illicit drug
smuggling at state borders, among other issues.
Law enforcement efforts for the systematic identification of drugs and precursors smuggling
were supported by a project that established a customs inspection facility in the East of
Tajikistan. The inspection facility provides for the searching of vehicles and cargo in a safe
environment.
Other
From 19 June to 3 July, the OS/Borders Team delivered two training sessions for Customs
Inspectors and Narcotics Control Officers in Turkmenistan. The sessions included specific
discussions on trends and routes of organized criminal elements in Central Asia. These
discussions detailed the differences between organized criminal groups controlling specific
commodities, and organized criminal groups controlling specific transportation routes and
conveyances.
From 12 to 14 October, the OS/Borders Team conducted the Annual OSCE Border Security
and Management National Focal Point Network Meeting in Vienna. During the Meeting,
attendees were offered the choice of participating in eight working groups. One of the
working groups focused on “Border Security and Management and Combating Terrorism,
Trafficking in Human Beings, Drugs Trafficking, and Irregular Migration”.
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