OSCE conducts training on countering transnational crime and identification of foreign terrorist fighters for border officers in Kazakhstan

An OSCE-supported three-day training course on countering transnational crime and identification of potential foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) concluded on 28 November 2019 in Aktau, Kazakhstan.

The training course was jointly organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Programme of the United States Embassy in Kazakhstan, and the Border Service of the Committee for National Security of Kazakhstan, with the support from the Border Security and Management Unit of OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department (OSCE/BSMU).

International experts from Georgia, INTERPOL, OSCE BSMU, and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization delivered presentations for twenty-five first- and second-line border security officers of the Border Guard Service. The focus was on international, regional and national legal frameworks, the effective use of Interpol databases, and document security. The participants discussed the importance of applying risk analysis models to identify potential foreign terrorist fighters at the borders. They also discussed how to identify trends and current cases. The participants engaged in practical exercises to detect forged documents and impostors as well as in interactive exercises to understand behavioral indicators of foreign terrorist fighters.

The event is a part of the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan’s long-term efforts to support the host country’s activities aimed at building its agencies’ capacities to counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism.