UN alert over border security

Just a day after reports of thousands of Congolese nationals from the DR Congo fleeing into Rwanda and Uganda, the international community has stressed the need for effective strategies to help States monitor, control and secure their borders against the illicit flow of materials and goods.In a highlight on how to secure borders against the flow of illicit arms and contrabands as waves of refugees breach borders in pursuit of safety and shelter, it says across the globe, insecure borders enable the trafficking of drugs, weapons, contraband, terrorist funding, materials related to weapons of mass destruction, conflict minerals, wildlife and people.By press time yesterday, an estimated 1,000 Congolese had crossed the better protected Rwanda border through Rubavu District. According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, the refugees were being received and vetted at the Nkamira Transit Centre. Another 7,000 refugees are said to have fled to Kisoro District in Western Uganda.They are said to be fleeing from the terror groups – the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) and the Lord’s Resistance Army which is led by the Ugandan fugitive, Joseph Kony – which are engaged in battle with the DRC army.Kony, who is a fugitive from international law over charges of crimes against humanity, is also on the run from a joint UN-African force that is hot on his trial.The Rwandan Defence Forces had already broken the back of the FDLR which comprises remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis.Concern over the influx of the refugees is based on the hard lessons learnt in East, Central and the Horn of Africa region in recent years. People escaping violence in their own countries have led to one of the highest proliferation of illicit small arms, poaching and the movement of contraband goods in the world.Lawless Somalia, which has been without a central government since the ouster of dictator Siad Barre in 1991 is so far the most notorious example; it has led to the widest spread of illicit arms in the region, one of the worst terrorist havens and the biggest refugee crisis on the continent.The Somali situation is only second to South Sudan’s 25-year fight for independence which only ended after a Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in Nairobi in 2005 between Juba and Khartoum which brought the hostilities to an easy end.Last July, South Sudan became independent, but barely 10 months into its statehood renewed hostilities with Sudan last month has seen refugees fleeing, rebels activities heightened and a rise in illicit arms.A high level Security Council meeting at the weekend was told that “preventing illicit flows is beneficial to countries, communities and individuals. It is important for security, development and human rights,” The conference is discussing how to improve the UN’s capacity to assist States to counter illicit flows.A communiqué received by The New Times quoted UN chief Ban Ki-moon saying; “such illicit flows undermine state sovereignty. They destroy communities and individual lives. They are threats to peace and security and are rightly the focus of this Council’s close attention.”“Countering them means action on many fronts,” said Ban. “Strengthening border security is crucial.”Under international law, member States are obliged to secure their borders against illicit flows, however, fragile and vulnerable countries – some of them devastated by war, others struggling to transform themselves – often lack the capacity to overcome the conditions that allow these crimes to flourish.In Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Project AIRCOP is designed to strengthen controls at international airports. The sea equivalent is the Global ContainerControl Programme.Ban notes that border strengthening is effective, but cannot be done in isolation. “We also need to give priority to establishing public institutions that deliver a sustained level of security and justice for citizens,” he says. “Border security can never come at the expense of migrants’ rights. Nor can it be used to legitimise inhumane treatment.”Also highlighted is the need for regional cooperation to address both illicit flows and human trafficking, as well as ratifying and implementing relevant legal tools such as treaties dealing with transnational organised crime and with corruption. Counter-terrorism strategies are also crucial since illicit flows are directly linked to terrorism.“There are no quick solutions to illicit flows. There is only a sustained process that requires the commitment of all,” Mr. Ban said. “Our watchtowers must be accompanied by watchwords: information, intelligence, data collection and analysis.The Council, in a presidential statement, called on all Member States to improve border management to “effectively constrain the spread of transnational threats.”It also acknowledged the importance of adopting a comprehensive and balanced approach, as necessary, to tackle the conditions conducive to facilitating illicit cross-border trafficking and movement, including demand and supply factors, and underlined the importance of international cooperation in this regard.There are currently thousands of Congolese refugees in Rwanda in three camps of Gihembe in Gicumbi District, Kiziba Camp in Karongi District, and Nyabiheke camp in Gatisbo.They total to over 55, 000 and have been living in these camps for last over 15 years.Aid agencies say rebel activities in the eastern DRC this year, have killed more than 100 people and displaced about 200,000 from their homes.Rwanda has a highly acclaimed programme of rehabilitating and reintegrating ex-child soldiers which has won the ultimate accolade – it is being used as the blueprint for an ambitious and high profile United Nations Security Council campaign of naming and shaming groups that recruit and use child soldiers.

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UN alert over border security