A seminar on managing, resolving and preventing conflicts at borders for senior border officials and researchers from Central Asia, Western and Eastern Europe and North America started at the OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) in Dushanbe today.

The seven-day seminar organized by the BMSC and the Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI) focuses on development of efficient and effective border management systems, which would help ensure greater security at borders and diminish cross-border crime.

“Peace across borders means peace at home. It is vital to increase effectiveness of the resolution of disputes at the borders,” said Julia Klaus, the BMSC Director. “This joint initiative provides a perfect platform for exchange of information among participants and researchers from different countries on how to strike a balance between safety of people, border security, and trade facilitation.”

Tuomo Melasuo, Research Director of the TAPRI, said: “Globalization, technological development, the changing role of the nation state, new types of economic activities and new dimensions of human mobility and networking make border studies highly important and relevant. That is why modern peace research becomes increasingly involved in border studies in different contexts. For TAPRI it is a particular privilege to contribute to the work of the OSCE Border Management Staff College and to co-organize this event, which provides an important opportunity for us and other researchers to further strengthen the dialogue with border practitioners in the field.“

The seminar is organized in cooperation with the Europe-Central Asia Monitoring (EUCAM) programme, Tajik National University, Centre for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan, and a doctoral programme in Border Studies ‘Russia in Europe’ co-ordinated by the University of Eastern Finland.

The major part of the course will be held at the BMSC premises, with several sessions taking place at the Tajik National University and the Centre for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan.

East of Tajikistan cut off from central Tajikistan.