Bishoftu (Ethiopia), 23 September 2014 – IGAD Security Sector Program (ISSP) convened a five days regional training workshop on Integrated Border Management (IBM) from 22nd to 26th September 2014 in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. The meeting was officially opened by Commander Abebe Muluneh, the Head of ISSP. Commander Tuemay Aregawi and Mr. Khalid Abdelrahman, the Pillar Heads of Transnational Organized Crime and Security Institutions Capacity Building, respectively, chaired the meeting. The IBM training workshop aims to strengthen the capacity of border agencies of IGAD countries to enable them facilitate the movement of persons and goods across borders in the Region, while at the same time maintaining secure borders.
A total of 28 participants were drawn from all Member States. Officials whose work is directly or indirectly related to border security such as immigration, customs, foreign affairs, police/law enforcement, defense/military, intelligence, refugee affairs, border police, maritime police or coast guard, and civil aviation, are in attendance. Regional Experts from Ethiopia and Kenya, as well as the ISSP team are facilitating the workshop and sharing their experiences.
The training workshop will continue until the 26th September 2014 and discuss the following topics:
• Concepts Approaches, Principles and Instruments of Border Security and Management
• International and regional border security and management standards and frameworks
• Maritime Security and border management and security as applied to the IGAD region
• Characteristics of African and IGAD region borders and their impact in addressing transnational security threats: opportunities, gaps, challenges
• Functions, tasks/roles and responsibilities of border management agencies and their interrelations
• IBM Pillars: meanings, principles, applications, challenges and opportunities
• Community engagement in border security and management
• IGAD approaches on border management and security
• Application and challenges of one stop border, single windows systems and joint operations in the IGAD region – in reflection with IGAD’s vision of trade/economic integration.
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