DUSHANBE, February 28, 2013, Asia-Plus — The Russian version of a handbook of best practices at border crossings developed by the OSCE and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) was launched at the Second Euro-Asian Transport Links Ministerial Meeting on February 26, 2013 in Geneva.
Press release issued by the OSCE says Alexey Stukalo, the deputy of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, presented the handbook at the opening session of the meeting, which was attended by some 200 participants, including transport ministers.
Originally published in English in 2012, the handbook provides an overview of tools and methodologies that can be used to harmonize and simplify existing procedures for moving legitimate cargo. It includes over 120 examples of best practices and covers available legal instruments, inter-agency and international co-operation, balancing security and facilitation measures, processing of freight, risk management, design of border crossing points, use of ICT technologies, human resource management and performance measurements. The publication in Russian makes the handbook increasingly accessible to readers across the entire OSCE/UNECE region.
It is aimed at officials in transport and trade ministries as well as customs agencies; freight and logistics business communities; and civil society and academia. The handbook is particularly relevant for landlocked developing countries trying to better integrate into the global economy.
The OSCE and the UNECE launched a second joint publication at the event, “2012 Inland Transport Security Discussion Forum Proceedings”, a compilation of expert papers covering various aspects of inland transport security.
