Border Security in Central Asia - Looking Forward to 2014 at the World BORDERPOL Congress

Hello, I am Chief Superintendent Erdal Duzdaban of the Turkish police force, currently seconded to the post of Border Management Officer in the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and I will be presenting at the World BORDERPOL Congress on 'Border Security in Central Asia–Looking Forward to 2014'.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Central Asian republics suddenly found themselves independent states. Central Asia states, -Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan-, faced the task of creating its own foreign policy: with one another, with its former ruler to the north, with the Islamic countries to the south, and with the Western influence.

Despite the countries in Central Asia continue to struggle for political and socio-economic stability, democratic, social and economic reforms have been hampered by the harsh realities of political and financial crises. Yet, security issues have not been formulated which aimed to strengthen border security and stability in the region.

Central Asian leaders have been hesitant and inconsistent in formulating regional agendas or structures for security cooperation. Some of these regional frameworks, structures and processes have had a clearly pronounced security agenda; in other cases the security function is only incipient. They have been diverse, usually uncoordinated and unconsolidated, and sometimes in competition with one another.

Border control in Central Asia is not an easy sector; in some republics, border services are well integrated into the repressive apparatus while in other republics, border services are poorly equipped, minimally funded, and well beyond the control of their ministers in capital cities.

This paper takes on the issue of border management support to the Central Asian republics and tries to find out answer for common approach in the region beyond 2014.

To learn more about Border Security in Central Asia, how it impacts the wider region and how it needs to move forward, come and listen to me and the many other great presentations, discussions and workshops at the World BORDERPOL Congress in London on 3rd-4th December.

Border agencies can also contribute by joining the Closed Agency Workshops where we can discuss how we can work together to enhance border security issues in Central Asia and beyond - I look forward to these discussions.

For a full Congress programme click here or www.borderpol-event.org for further details.

To register online click here.

I look forward to seeing you in London on 3rd-4th December.

Erdal Duzdaban
Border Management Officer
OSCE Office in Tajikistan