Focus AreasWhere We WorkCentral Asia EU member states and Turkey South Caucasus South-East Europe Russia and Western CIS
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New Gear to Help Kyrgyzstan Battle Border Problems
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Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, October 2009-What was once a Silk Road bringing spices and other goods to Europe and Central Asia has now become a sieve, with a flow of illicit traffic moving between the two regions. In response, Kyrgyzstan is the latest Central Asian nation to partner with the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme to better regulate its borders.
The donation will also help the Border Service of Kyrgyzstan in its transition from a conscript-based service to a professional civilian force. The change is part of an ongoing security sector reform in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan has set a goal of changing its border force into a full professional, police-like service. The equipment is also strongly needed at a time when narcotics, weapons and people are moving illegally across unevenly guarded borders in the region. Kyrgyzstan’s borders include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China, with the Chinese border considered the most developed (due to its former status as a Soviet Union border). “Some sections of the Kyrgyz border are not yet fully demarcated, and the border structure is sub-basic,” Tamas Kiss, BOMCA Chief Technical Advisor, said. “The southern borders are partially porous and potential entry points for smuggling drugs and weapons and human trafficking,” he added, pointing in particular to the Ferghana Valley. Heroin and opium, which are harvested and produced in Afghanistan, are then shipped through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to Europe and Russia. The illicit drug trade has created numerous social and human development problems in its wake. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime cites trafficking as a major source of funding for terrorists, a source of criminal activity and a deterrent to economic activity. Trafficking also contributes to rising rates of HIV/AIDS, particularly through the use of infected needles. Both drug-related crime and the HIV/AIDS epidemic continue to grow in the region. The problem has worsened in the last decade. The growth has been spurred by cheap prices, unevenly guarded borders, a global demand for opiates and a central location at the crossroads of Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, for instance, in the first sixth months of 2008 authorities seized 38 kg of heroin, a modest increase from mid-year 2007. Trafficking also provides a ready source of income for those looking to get ahead in an impoverished region. The economic boost, however, is generally temporary. The OSCE has found that organized groups of traffickers keep roughly 99 percent of the profits. The EU-UNDP’s BOMCA programme aims to change these trends in Kyrgyzstan through better border security. The programme, implemented by UNDP, is one of the EC’s “flagship” programmes. BOMCA’s accumulated budgets in 2003-2010 amount to € 25.655 million. UNDP co-funded the programme with € 2.05 million. “The high level of criminality associated with smuggling and human trafficking is a major destabilizing force,” Mr. Kiss said. “The equipment handed over shows the good will of Hungarian counterparts and the EU-UNDP’s willingness to help.” |
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As part of that assistance Kyrgyzstan has now received 64,000 EURO in equipment to help with the process of securing its borders. Through the EU-UNDP programme, Border Management in Central Asia, the Border Service of Hungary donated night vision goggles and equipment for primary and secondary document security control to check passports and other travel documents. There were 25 items for each equipment type.
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