Luxor - The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in cooperation with the Egyptian Customs Authority affiliated to the Ministry of Finance, organized a training for Egyptian customs officers on “Border Governance and Protection of People on the Move” in Luxor, Egypt. A total number of 25 customs officers including frontline field officers at Luxor International Airport and the General Directorate of Customs in Aswan (particularly Qustul and Argeen Land Border Posts on the Egyptian Southern Borders), attended the training.  

The training introduced key concepts on migration and tackled integrated border management, terminology and introduction to international migration law, including human rights at the borders. The national legal framework on counter-trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, and the role of the Egyptian National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons (NCCPIM&TIP) were presented by members of its technical secretariat Additionally, the National Referral Mechanism for Victims of Trafficking and the definitions of migration and migration paths in the Egyptian context were presented. The training was concluded with a session on gender mainstreaming in border governance.  

Given the recent conflict in Sudan, Border Governance and Protection of People on the Move is a timely course, particularly relevant to the customs officials’ mandate and their role among the border management authorities. Egyptian customs officials are amongst the first frontliners dealing with migration flows, and hence it is crucial to sensitize the participants on rights-based border governance to enhance their knowledge and capacity to safeguard vulnerable migrants’ rights and uphold their protection in line with international human rights standards and principles of gender mainstreaming, while ensuring effective border governance.   

This training was generously funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration through ARMP (Africa Regional Migration Program) North Africa Sub-Regional Desk in Cairo. 

For more information, please contact: 

Salma Okasha, sokasha@iom.int