Sarajevo, 29 July 2013

Ceremony to Mark the Completion of the Project “Building the Capacity of Members of Police Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia for Performing Joint Patrols”

As part of the project “Building the Capacities of Law Enforcement Officials of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia in Performing Joint Border Patrols” funded by the UK Government, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), will organise the final ceremony on the Croatian side of the Bijača/Nova Sela border crossing on Tuesday 30 July 2013. The ceremony will be attended by Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy in Sarajevo, Director of the Border Police of BH, Head of the Croatian Interior Ministry Border Administration, Head of the IOM Mission in BH and Sub-regional Coordinator for the Western Balkans, as well as senior representatives of the BH Border Police and the Border Administration of the Republic of Croatia. The ceremony will also serve as an opportunity to present certificates to the 340 law enforcement officials that attended trainings organised as part of this project.

Representatives of the media are invited to attend this event

scheduled for Tuesday 30 July 2013, beginning at 11:00 at the Bijača/Nova Sela Border Crossing in the newly opened facility on the Croatian side of the border.

The above mentioned officials will be available for statements.

(The border crossings have been informed about the arrival of the media for this event and crossing the border with equipment will not be a problem. However, all representatives of the media will have to possess biometric passports).

The Western Balkans region represents one of the main transit routes for illegal migrants, as well as for the illegal smuggling of goods and trafficking in human beings, drugs, weapons, and stolen vehicles. Following Croatia’s accession to the EU on 1 July 2013, the border between BH and Croatia, which is more than 1,000 kilometres long, has become one of the EU’s principal land borders and could become a porous point of entry into the EU if adequate measures are not taken to curb illegal migration and cross-border transgressions in a systematic way.

IOM successfully implemented joint trainings for the Border Police of BH and Ministry of Interior, Border Directorate of Croatia in 2009. However, it is crucial to organise additional and augmented trainings in order to address new illegal migration patterns in the region, as well as new forms of trafficking, smuggling, and cross-border transgressions. It is also of key importance to organise training aimed at increasing the level of knowledge of law enforcement institutions on national legislation, including all amendments to legislation regulating the control and management of borders.

Training organised as part of this project served to raise law enforcement officials’ awareness of new laws and migration patterns and enables participants to perform joint patrols in accordance with the Protocol on Joint Patrols, which ensures the long-term sustainability of the intervention. As a result, the project has directly contributed to the improvement of long-term management of illegal migration flows, smuggling and trafficking at an external border of the EU.

Manuals that will facilitate the performance of joint patrols were prepared and distributed along the border between the two countries during implementation of the project. One manual focuses on the legislation of BH and Croatia, while the other represents the Curriculum for Performing Joint Patrols in accordance with the Agreement between the BH Council of Ministers and the Croatian Government on cooperation and control of the state border.

The successful completion of the project has served to mitigate the risk of illegal migrations and cross-border transgressions at the border between BH and Croatia, which will contribute to a higher level of security in the Western Balkans and EU member states.

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Contact person:

Edita Selimbegović, PR - International Organization for Migration – Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tel: +387 (0)33 567 219 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting Fax: +387 (0)33 567 229 Mob: +387 (0)61 215 839 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting