European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah

EUBAM Rafah
operation area	Israel / Gaza Strip
German name	European Union Mission in Support of Border Guard at Rafah Crossing
English name	European Union Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah Crossing Point
Type of mission	Border Guard Support Mission
Beginning	2006
status	exposed
management	Günther Freisleben
Map overview	WV Gaza Strip region

The European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah (EU BAM Rafah) is a support mission at the Palestinian-Egyptian border crossing in Rafah ( Gaza Strip ) that has existed since November 25, 2005 .

Following the closure of the transition as a result of the internal Palestinian conflict over Gaza in June 2007 and the takeover by Hamas , the implementation of EUBAM Rafah was temporarily suspended on June 15, 2007.

General

The Rafah crossing was opened after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza to give the 1.4 million residents access to the outside world. As part of their peace negotiations, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority agreed on the Agreement on Freedom of Movement and Access , which was signed on November 15, 2005. The EU was asked by the parties to actively monitor the handling of passenger and freight traffic at the Rafah border crossing.

Within a few days, the Council of the European Union made preparations for the mission within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and on November 25, 2005 EUBAM Rafah was officially started. The EUBAM Rafah was present at the opening ceremony for the border crossing with five employees, over time the number of employees grew to 89 members from 17 EU countries.

After Hamas won the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council on January 25, 2006 , the elite Force 17 unit , which reports directly to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas , took over the protection of EUBAM Rafah.

On November 13, 2006, the Council of the European Union decided to extend the mission by a further six months until May 24, 2007. Further extensions followed, the last with a decision from May 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

However, on June 15, 2007 the mission was suspended after the border crossing had been closed since June 9. Patrick Delval, the deputy head of mission, stated on June 27 that EUBAM Rafah would not return to the border crossing as long as it was controlled by Hamas and not by Force 17 .

On July 7, 2007, it was decided to leave the mission in an operational state at all times, but to reduce the number of personnel.

tasks and activities

mandate

The EUBAM Rafah is to actively monitor, examine and evaluate the measures of the Palestinian Authority, in particular its security service with regard to the implementation of the agreements of the border crossing in Rafah. It will have the power to ensure that the Palestinian Authority complies with all regulations applicable to the border checkpoint.

tasks

• Support of the Palestinian Authority in setting up border protection and customs (training, equipment, technical support)
• Assessment of the procedures used by the Palestinian Authority
• If there is any doubt as to whether the applicable agreements and regulations have been complied with by the Palestinian border guards and customs officers, they can request that people, luggage, vehicles or goods be re-examined or classified
• Promotion of Israeli-Palestinian confidence-building and cooperation
• Participation in building institutional capacity in the Palestinian Authority to ensure effective border control and surveillance
• Promotion of cross-border cooperation

Nations and staff involved

Officials from 17 EU member states ( Belgium , Denmark , Germany , Great Britain , Estonia , Finland , France , Greece , Italy , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Netherlands , Austria , Portugal , Romania , Sweden , Spain ) have so far been involved in EUBAM Rafah . EUBAM Rafah is currently headed by Frenchman Alain Faugeras and consists of 13 officials from different countries. Customs officials from Germany are currently (May 2011) on duty. The EU had asked the member states to create a pool of personnel in order to be able to dispatch officials within a week of the reopening of the border crossing. Germany planned 4–5 officials.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Joint Action 2005/889 / CFSP of December 12, 2005 for the establishment of a European Union mission to support border protection at the Rafah border crossing (EU BAM Rafah) , accessed on July 17, 2008
2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from June 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. EUBAM homepage (accessed on April 28, 2011) 
3. ↑ Herb Keinon: EU monitors to stay away from Rafah (English) . In: Jerusalem Post , June 28, 2007. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved July 17, 2008.  
4. ^ Working group on international police missions: Information sheet EUBAM Rafah (GO) In: German Federal Police . June 16, 2008. Accessed on July 17, 2008.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Website of the EUBAM Rafah ( English ) EUBAM Rafah. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
• EUBAM Rafah ( English ) European Union External Action Service. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
• T. Litges: Police NRW - Foreign missions - EU Border Assistance Mission to the Rafah Crossing Point (GO) In: Police of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia . February 27, 2006. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
• Gisela Dachs: Complicated mission . In: Zeit online , December 16, 2006. Retrieved July 16, 2008. 
• Gisela Dachs: On post in Rafah - The multinational team of the European Union Border Assistance Mission is on duty for Israeli security. . In: Germany magazine . November 27, 2006. Retrieved July 17, 2008.