Remarks by

Ambassador John E. Herbst
at the "Reinforcing The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine’s Human Resources Management System" (HUREMAS) Project Launch

Kyiv, Ukraine
February 16, 2006

The panel responds to journalists' questions. From left to right: Colonel Astakhov, Acting Chief of the Officer of Cooperation with Mass Media and Public Relations; Colonel-General Mykola Lytvyn, Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine; Ambassador Ian Boag, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Ukraine; U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst; (behind) Mr. Christopher Petch, Acting Chief of the International Office for Migration (IOM) Mission in Ukraine; and the interpreter.

The United States is pleased to participate in this important joint project with EC-TACIS and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. U.S. assistance programs with the State Border Guard Service over the next few years will exceed $40 million.

Our common task is to put in place a system that will allow Ukraine to be a full partner with Europe and the U.S. in maintaining open but secure borders.

Terrorists and their efforts to smuggle inputs for weapons of mass destruction and organized crime groups involved in trafficking of narcotics, people, and contraband are common challenges to all our nations. Criminal and terrorist organizations use the latest technical means and bribe corrupt officials to facilitate activities that jeopardize the security of all of our citizens.

Together, we can best cope with these challenges and to find the right answers. The answers need to be effective and efficient and without a doubt they will require much better cooperation and coordination between all states.

The project being launched today is a core building block for future projects the USG will be involved in with the Border Guards. This EC-TACIS-led initiative will strengthen the system of personnel training and management in the State Border Guard Service in line with EU standards of border service and protection. We commend Chairman Lytvyn and the SBGS for this ambitious goal.

This project will help the State Border Guard Service build an infrastructure to select good professionals. Training will help ensure that a fully professional Border Guard Service -- as a civilian law enforcement agency -- can meet the challenges faced by Ukraine today on its borders.

For people everywhere, the United States is a partner for a better life. We see this project as helping the Border Guard Service bring to the people of Ukraine a more secure and prosperous future.

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