Border Management
From the outset, peace operations have been deployed on and around borders. Long-running UN missions like UNMOGIP in Kashmir and UNFICYP in Cyprus or the UN operation in Abyei (UNISFA) – in the border area between Sudan and South Sudan – monitor ceasefire lines or disputed border areas (> Monitoring and Verification). However, the current understanding of border management in peace operations goes beyond these traditional mandates. Today, peace operations participate actively in controlling and monitoring borders and in building capacity for border management and protection. They also conduct confidence-building measures in border areas.
Peace operations have been supporting national police and border services for quite some time through training in the field of border management and protection. For example, the UN missions in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and Timor-Leste (UNTAET) contributed to building national coast guards. Similarly, various OSCE and EU missions provide training and technical support to strengthen airport security, advance the prevention of illegal border crossings and improve the analysis of border incidents. The EU capacity-building mission in Niger trained mobile police units to patrol the border and protect local populations. The EU Advisory Mission to Ukraine supports the Ukrainian authorities in improving border management, including by facilitating closer cooperation between involved agencies.
Among the oldest missions that are tasked with monitoring borders and buffer zones is UNFICYP in Cyprus (since 1964). Today the focus is on border management, examples include:
- MINUSCA (Central African Republic)
- EUBAM Libya
- OSCE Presence in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)
In an advisory capacity, the EU and the OSCE have introduced concepts of Integrated Border Management (IBM) from Kazakhstan to Iraq and Libya. In Libya, this entailed comprehensive support measures for customs authorities, coast guard, border guards, the army and the navy. In the Central African Republic, MINUSCA supported the development of the National Border Management Policy and accompanying Action Plan aimed at securing borders, strengthening cross-border cooperation, and promoting socio-economic development in border areas. The OSCE Presence in Bishkek supports the Kyrgyz state border service in the area of transnational threats.
At present, the OSCE mission in Skopje maintains a permanent presence in the border areas and supports the information exchange between the border police of North Macedonia and the authorities of the neighboring countries. The EU Border Assistance Mission in Libya promoted regional approaches, such as the 2022 ‘One Desert Initiative’ that aimed to foster cooperation among countries in the Sahel, but was hampered by adverse political developments in the region from 2023 onwards.
As of 05.01.2026