Background
The International Border Management Conference is the annual flagship border governance event organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). Organised since 2018 in close cooperation with ICMPD’s main partners, the conference brings together practitioners, policy makers, donors and experts from public institutions, agencies, international and regional organisations and private entities to engage in dialogue on state-of-the-art developments, good practice and the latest trends and research related to the field of border governance.
Capitalising on its three decades of experience, considerable expertise and a broad network of institutional partners and specialists, as well as experience driving Migration Capacity Partnerships in the Mediterranean, ICMPD brings innovative ideas and demand-driven solutions to border management challenges and opportunities. From the outset of ICMPD’s work on integrated border management, equal focus has been laid on migration, mobility, trade, security and cross border crime. Each of these sectors requires a unique and targeted approach and an involvement of specialised agencies. Hence, only an integrated approach can deliver the most significant and sustainable results. Improved cooperation and coordination can deliver added value to a wide variety of sectors; ranging from security, to safeguarding human rights, from health to sanitary safety, from control of movements to the facilitation of trade and tourism. Secure borders which are nevertheless open for mobility, trade and tourism can support both international security as well as local development.
For its fifth edition, the conference will be held in Jordan, a country that has in recent years demonstrated resilience and leadership in the field of migration governance and border management at large. Located along the Eastern Mediterranean route in a region beset by a diverse range of geopolitical challenges, including neighbouring border conflict areas, Jordan provides an optimal setting to address topical discussions in the field of border management. Jordan is an attractive destination for international travellers, with around 5.6 million visitors in 2019 alone. These factors make Jordan the ideal location to host this fifth edition of the conference, to explore the potential of border management as an enabler of partnership, capacity, security and development.
Previous editions of the conference have focused on integrated border management, trade facilitation, technology driven challenges, and educational initiatives for border personnel. Interactive, spirited and at times heated discussions were made possible each year, and even encouraged as progress can stem from these insights. The conferences have ensured comprehensive viewpoints by including border guards, immigration police, and customs, phytosanitary and veterinary officers in the discussions on the daily challenges of border management.
2022: the 5th International Border Management Conference, co-organised by the Ministry of Interior of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The conference will once again bring together a diversity of public and private actors within a host country where the safe and orderly movement of people and goods across borders is a high priority.
The economic and sociologic consequences of the mobility limitations and sanitary challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the mass displacement caused by the war in Ukraine, confirmed once more the high degree of inter-connectedness and mutual dependency that characterises our globalised world. Border management has to ensure the functional passage of essential goods, services and workers in ‘normal’ times as well as during crises. It can also act as a catalyst to facilitate and revitalise important economic sectors such as tourism to support economic recovery from recent crises. Against the backdrop of increasing conflict and growing instability, stronger attention must be paid to security, risk prevention and tackling trans-border crime. This means that fulfilling the twin goals of safeguarding security and enabling development have become more challenging than ever. New challenges call for renewed partnerships, modernised and professionalised capacities, multidimensional governance and advanced interoperability, better forecasting and risk assessments, as well as enhanced communication, coordination and real-time information exchange within states and across borders.
Conference participants will have the opportunity to present their daily practices, experiences and achievements in border management and to exchange views and discuss potential developments. In particular, the capacity centred approach in border management will be explored as driver of the industry standards to converge towards a joint leadership and shared responsibility along the migration routes to address today’s global challenges, opportunities and achievements whether from a security, institutional or economic perspective.
The integrated approach requires the involvement of a broad range of authorities, stakeholders and non-state actors. Thus, the conference will bring together experienced professionals with practical and technical backgrounds including policy- and decision-makers from various public institutions and agencies, and private sector, academia, and civil society organisation representatives working in the international sphere of border governance.
Objectives of the Conference
The main objectives of the conference are to share, present and discuss practices and recommendations for strengthening operational capacity in professional and modern border management, with focus on the integrated border management approach in all its diversity and potential. Sharing worldwide experiences will help identify different paths to streamline the work of border agencies in a comprehensive and methodological way. The conference will host open and solution-oriented discussions on the topic of how changes in mobility, trade and technology could impact integrated border management.
Conference format
The conference will be organised with physical attendance so that participants can exchange and interact directly amongst each other, and attend the presentations which will be delivered live at the venue in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Presentations and discussions will be held in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic and Russian. Participation is free of charge but only invited and registered participants will have access to the conference.
Contact Information
Mr. Borut Eržen
Head of Programme, Border Management and Security
International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)
Email:
Details and background information: www.icmpd.org