EUBAM Rafah initiated and funded establishment of the Command and Control Centre of the Palestinian Authority’s General Administration for Border and Crossings. The Command and Control Centre will significantly improve overall communication and coordination of activities among the border and customs agencies working under the umbrella of the General Administration for Border and Crossings. The General Administration for Border and Crossings’ Command and Control Centre is the core structure, essential for an efficient Integrated Border Management of the Palestinian Authority.
As the Command and Control Centre is a sophisticated mechanism requiring a high level of skills and competencies, the Mission has further proceeded with capacity building activities for the Command and Control Centre’s personnel. In this regards, EUBAM Rafah deployed a Specialized Team, one of the latest EU Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability’s tools for force generation. The Specialized Team is composed of experts seconded by EU member states, specialized in the areas of Integrated Border Management, border police and customs respectively.
The experts, two from Hungary and two from Poland, were deployed recently for a period of two months. Upon their arrival, the Specialized Team members were introduced to the General Administration for Border and Crossings’ Director General and other members of the top management, who held with them comprehensive discussions about the situation in the Command and Control Centre and the General Administration for Border and Crossings’ terminal and about the concrete needs on the side of the Palestinian counterpart.
The Specialized Team visited all key General Administration for Border and Crossings’ facilities and assessed the situation on the ground. The collected information will serve the Specialized Team to develop tailored trainings for the Command and Control Centre’s personnel. The training activities as such, for 30 General Administration for Border and Crossings’ staff members, are commencing in the first half of November and will take approximately one month. The Specialized Team is also expected to provide qualified advice to the General Administration for Border and Crossings how to further develop the Command and Control Centre’s concept and how to incorporate it into the overall border management system. When the training programme delivered by the Specialized Team finishes, the General Administration for Border and Crossings will be able to oversee and conduct border operations in more efficient manners, having real time control on all operations. The eight-week long deployment of the Specialized Team will end on 14 December 2022. Then, starting with 1st of January 2023, the General Administration for Border and Crossings would run the facility on its own, with full ownership over the procedures.
