26 August 2010 - Afghan police stationed on the country’s border with Tajikistan - part of a trade route used to smuggle drugs, people and goods - have completed training to spot fake passports and visas, while also learning about migrants’ rights and developing literacy, computer and driving skills at sessions organized by Afghan officials with support from the United Nations.

“Government control extends to the borders. This training helps the police take better control of the borders and improves the Government’s abilities to govern,” said Vesna Stojanovic, Project Manager of the Takhar Border Management Project under the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

The training, held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan from 4 to 8 August, was organized as part of the Afghanistan Cross-Border Cooperation Project under an agreement with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance Customs Department and the Ministry of Commerce. The training was organized by UNOPS in coordination with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Tajikistan.

For the seven participating police from the border towns of Aikhanum and Shir Khan Bandar in the Takhar province of Afghanistan this was the first opportunity to visit Tajikistan - the country they look out at every day.

During the training, the participants saw samples of passports and visas from Central Asian countries, as well as 150 types of passports and visas from around the world. They learned which types of visas were valid and for how long, as well as other paperwork that could be used in lieu of passports, such as refugee travel document or Government-issued letters.

Trainees also learned how to spot a potential smuggler and were instructed in practical applications of international conventions and laws, as well as national laws, for example that Afghan and Tajik women under 21 years of age cannot travel through the border without an accompanying male figure.

Participants also received training in the rights of migrants, “such as the right to work, the right to benefit from social services such as health and education, and the right to complain if they are mistreated,” said Mohammed Rahim Nazari, Deputy Project Manager of the Takhar Border Management Project. He added that this was particularly important given that the police can legally detain a suspicious person at the border.

The training also aimed to stem counter-trafficking. While exact figures are unknown, large amounts of goods are smuggled out through the 1,200 km porous Afghan border to avoid tax payments.

In addition, about 1,230 metric tons of opiates - heroin and opium - are smuggled annually through Tajikistan and its neighbours to Europe and China, much through the Pyanj River that separates the countries, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The UNOPS training programme is based on a curriculum agreed to with the Government of Afghanistan.

“There is a centralized approach planned. This particular training will be phased out in August of 2011. You can think of our programme as preparation for the Academy,” said Stojanovic, referring to the Border Police Academy which expanded its capacity in May of this year.

In addition to training, UNOPS is in the process of procuring equipment for the border police, such as drug detection equipment, a radio communication tower, motor bikes and binoculars.

To complement the border duty training, the UN office has organized a series of training sessions to improve their literacy, computer knowledge and driving abilities.

Nearly 40 police gathered daily following morning or afternoon prayers in a mosque they had built on the border to improve their reading and writing skills. Another 20 learned how to type and use a computer; while five people received training in traffic regulations in Kabul.

“These are remote areas. There are not a lot of opportunities for education or training,” said Stojanovic.

The heads of border police in Aikhanum and Shir Khan have requested an extension of the literacy, computer and driving courses.

Arrangements are also being made with UNODC to have a basic drugs training and with the German Police Project to provide police training for the officers.

“There is so much that needs to be done,” said Stojanovic.

By UNAMA