23 червня 2009
Ukrainian Border Guards Enhance Border Management Legislation to Meet EU Standards
Ukrainian Border Guards Enhance Border Management Legislation to Meet EU Standards
On May 22, 2009, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Ukraine and State Border Guard Service (SBGS) of Ukraine in partnership with the European Commission (EC) and U.S. Department of State (U.S.) held the Second International Border Management Legal Reform Conference to solicit the support of Government of Ukraine bodies and Parliament in the strengthening of Ukraine’s border management legislation. The legislative reforms are an important step in the SBGS’ effort to transform itself by 2015 into a modern uniformed law enforcement service, a standard that Ukraine must fulfil if it wishes to be EU compliant in this area.
In this context, Deputy Chairman of the SBGS Oleksandr Melnykov opened the event by underscoring the primacy of legislative reform in ensuring the Service’s purposeful growth, “[Enhancing legislation] is crucial, insofar as legislation determines the tasks, functions, and authority vested in the SBGS.”
The conference featured keynote remarks from Head of Operations of the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine Laura Garagnani, Head of the Law Enforcement Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine Dorothy Mayhew, IOM Senior Programme Coordinator Daiva Vilkelyte and representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, as well as presentations from a wide array of practising specialists, including the Hungarian National Police, UNCHR, FRONTEX, EUBAM, and the SBGS.
Ms. Garagnani tied the legislative initiatives to the sweeping aims of the EU-Ukraine European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan and the recently inaugurated Eastern Partnership, noting that the reforms of the SBGS were “positively highlighted at the meeting of the EU-Ukraine Sub-committee on Justice, Freedom and Security” on May 13, 2009, in Brussels.
EU and national experts engaged in lively discussion on existing legislative gaps, specific laws crucial to the development of the SBGS as a de-militarized, uniformed law enforcement agency, the experience of border guard structures in EU Member States such as Hungary and Poland in approximating relevant national legislature to the acquis communautaire and Schengen Border Code, as well as prospects and opportunities for future collaboration to enhance relevant legislation to meet ever-changing border management challenges and priorities.
“The IOM reaffirms that comprehensive, concerted effort on the part of all involved stakeholders is still necessary to consolidate the gains made by the SBGS,” stated Ms. Vilkelyte, “[SBGS-developed] legal documents address specific concerns in the sphere of border management and shape the structure of the SBGS in the years to come.”
The conference is one component of the EU/U.S.-funded project titled “Improving Integrated Border Management: Follow-up to Reinforcing the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Human Resources Management – HUREMAS 2” implemented by the IOM with the assistance of the Polish Border Guard and Hungarian National Police.
