Rumiko Seya, Secretary General of the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention

Considering "border control"

Two months have passed since I wrote my last article for "Peace classroom." During this time, the swine flu became big news, first breaking out overseas and then reaching the shores of Japan.

Rumiko Seya

Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1977. Graduated from Chuo University and received an MA in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford in the UK. Specialist in post-conflict peacebuilding and reintegration of ex-combatants into society. In the past she held various positions in conflict areas, such as NGO staff (Rwanda), UN volunteer (Sierra Leone), Special Assistant to the Ambassador (Japanese Embassy, Afghanistan), and UN Peacekeeping Operations staff (Côte d'Ivoire). She became Secretary General of the JCCP in April 2007.

JCCP's website http://www.jccp.gr.jp/

Despite such conditions, I was in Africa since early May to study how security can be maintained in Somalia amid its internal strife. The security situation in southern Somalia is growing worse and, at the same time, pirates are attacking international ships in the waters off Somalia. In response, countries such as the United States and Japan have dispatched ships to fight the pirates.

The measures taken against swine flu and the Somali pirates share something in common. In both cases, "border control and management" is essential. For swine flu, the first important step involves safeguarding airports to prevent the illness from entering the country and providing prompt treatment to those who have possibly contracted it. As for the problems caused by pirates, the nations with authority over those waters must meet the challenge of managing this area and secure its safety against crime and violence.

For this column, I would like to look at the issue of "border control" which is often a source of difficulty both in Japan and in conflict areas.

First of all, "national borders" are designed to establish a nation's territory by means of drawing lines for these borders. But creating the borders themselves is often a cause of conflict.

For example, in Sudan, there is conflict over territory which holds natural resources, such as oil, while in the desert area, the fight is over precious water. The conflict between Israel and Palestine originates from a territorial dispute over land that both sides long to live on, in line with their ethnicity and religion.

The coast guard patrols for pirates off the coast of Somalia. (Photo by Rumiko Seya, 2009)

Despite the fact that Japan is an island nation, surrounded by the sea, it also sometimes experiences territorial disputes with neighboring countries.

Although two governments may have reached an agreement on where the border line is set, sometimes people within those nations are dissatisfied with the result and they agitate for independence. People might seek independence to protect their particular group's rights because they feel the government showed favoritism toward one group and discriminated against others.

To resolve border difficulties, a political agreement is first needed in regard to the border line on land and on the sea. Second, each nation must properly control the border to block any illegal flow of people or goods.

Despite clear national borders, if the government is weak and unable to control the borders as it should, criminal groups and armed groups can then run rampant, like in Somalia. Most nations suffering from conflict cannot control their borders and so arms for the conflict and for crime flow easily into the country. This is why not only people, but also goods, must be controlled at border crossings.

What things are forbidden from being brought into Japan or out of Japan? What kinds of people are regulated in regard to entering and departing? For today's question, imagine a situation in a conflict area where the national borders are not under control as well as countries where people can easily cross national borders on foot.