OSCE trains Uzbek border and customs officers in identifying suspected foreign terrorist fighters

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the Border Troops and Customs Committee of Uzbekistan, held a national training course on identifying suspected foreign terrorist fighters and other criminals at border crossings in Tashkent from 7 to 10 April.

Twenty-two first- and second-line border and customs officers sharpened their skills through practical exercises on identity management, detecting illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW), profiling techniques, risk analysis and methods for preventing trafficking in human beings.

The training course was delivered by seven members of Uzbekistan’s National Mobile Training Team as part of their third deployment mission since they completed their advanced training with support of the OSCE-led Mobile Training Team in 2023. International experts from Belgium, North Macedonia and the United Kingdom as well as the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and the OSCE also contributed their expertise and provided training materials.

The course was followed by the official opening of the OSCE classroom at the Advanced Training Faculty under the Customs Committee of Uzbekistan. This included a handover ceremony for two servers to improve the video surveillance system at Uzbek border checkpoints as well as 100 copies of Frontex guidebooks on SALW in the Uzbek language. The classroom and donations are expected to enhance the effectiveness of local customs and border officers’ daily work.

These activities are part of the OSCE extrabudgetary project “Strengthening the resilience of Uzbekistan to address cross-border challenges emanating from Afghanistan”, funded by Germany, Sweden and the United States of America. Further training courses are scheduled for 2025.