The European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah) is a non-executive, non-armed civilian Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Mission.
Mandate
EUBAM Rafah is mandated to provide a Third-Party Presence at the Rafah Crossing Point (RCP). In its current stand-by mode, EUBAM Rafah supports enhanced capacity of Palestinian Authority border agencies, notably by mentoring and advising personnel from the General Administration for Borders and Crossings towards a modern, sustainable border management system in line with EU and international standards. The Mission also supports projects on trade facilitation and processing of biometric passports. In line with the EU Integrated Approach, the Mission cooperates with other EU actors and stakeholders on integrated border management.
Context
Launched by the EU Council in November 2005, EUBAM Rafah was envisioned as the EU “Third Party” presence at the RCP on the Gaza-Egypt border, as per the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority covering the principles for the operation of the RCP. Following suspension of its operations at the RCP in June 2007, EUBAM Rafah has been implementing a long-term Preparedness Project with its Palestinian counterparts, i.e. capacity-building activities to enhance their ability to redeploy to the RCP when conditions will allow.
Area covered
EUBAM Rafah is deployed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and coordinates its activities with the Palestinian Authority border agencies that are based in Jericho in the West Bank. It maintains regular contact with its counterpart, the General Administration for Borders and Crossings (GABC) in Jericho and its readiness to redeploy to the RCP once the political and security conditions allow.
Head of Mission: Bulgarian diplomat Nataliya Apostolova.
Mission staff: In its current stand-by mode, EUBAM Rafah has ten international and eight local staff.
Budget: EUR 2 360 000 for the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.
Duration of mandate: EUBAM Rafah’s mandate is renewed on an annual basis and currently extends to 30 June 2024.
