Félix Azón inaugurates the Summer Course “The Civil Guard against global threats to security”
He has been accompanied by the Acting President of the Bureau of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, María Esther González; the Minister of Public Administration, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, Julio Pérez; the Subdelegate of the Government in Tenerife, Jesús Javier Plata; Lieutenant General Personnel Command, Francisco Díaz Alcantud; by the General Division Chief of the Technical Cabinet, Francisco Esteban, among other civil and military authorities
This Course aims to analyze three areas of National Security such as the management of migratory flows, the preservation of the environment and cybersecurity, as well as knowing the historical trajectory of the Civil Guard in the Canary Islands and the commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Body
The Director General of the Civil Guard, Félix Azón, inaugurated the Summer Course “The Civil Guard in the face of global security threats. Collaboration scenarios in immigration, environment and cybersecurity. ”
The Director General has begun his speech by thanking the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo de Tenerife, the University of La Laguna, the Carlos III University of Madrid, Fred Olsen, Spanish Electric Network and Air Europa, their invaluable collaboration in the preparation of this Summer Course promoted by the University Center of the Civil Guard.
Félix Azón has stated that, to promote the culture of security, to give the visibility that the Civil Guard's work deserves daily, especially in this year in which the 175th Anniversary of its foundation is celebrated, and to analyze three of the threats to the Global security with greater impact on our society, are the objectives pursued and the basis on which the development, promotion and coordination of this Course has pivoted.
Azón stressed that if this course were to be designed at this time, another fourth theme should be added, which is the national drama of Gender Violence, a scourge that is ravaging us and that has to disappear. It must be eradicated and, therefore, must be one of the central elements of the work of the State Security Forces and Bodies.
The Director General has referred to the leaders of the member countries of the Union who have shown to be especially sensitized to such serious problems as those that will be addressed during the next few days in this period as reflected in the New Strategic Agenda for the period 2019-2024, established on June 20 by the European Council, in which the political direction of the European Union has been drawn up in four main priorities, among which are the management of migration flows, the implementation of the ecological transition in Europe as a proactive measure in the defense of our environment and our natural resources, and the defense against cyber threats.
In relation to the first of these threats to global security, he has briefly described the phenomenon of irregular immigration in the Canary Islands since clandestine immigration by sea began arriving in these islands in 1994, with the arrival to Fuerteventura of a first boat with 10 immigrants from the shores of Western Sahara and that was soon acquiring a growing dimension that made it necessary to adopt a series of measures aimed at achieving a decrease in the phenomenon, which was achieved from of the year 2005.
In this sense, he has stated that it was demonstrated that migratory flows are communicating vessels and that, when control of exits from a point is achieved, the migratory exchange adapts to the new situation by looking for new alternative routes and modus operandi.
With the purpose of responding to this requirement, in October 2006 the “Coordination Authority for Actions to deal with Illegal Immigration in the Canary Islands” was created, a responsibility that fell from the beginning on a General Officer of the Civil Guard, The Canary Islands Regional Coordination Center was created simultaneously as a support unit for the newly created Authority.
The Civil Guard, as a development of the concept of “Integral Border Management” implemented in the European Union, gradually reinforced border control, cross-border investigation, and cooperation with different European institutions and agencies.
Félix Azón, said that "fortunately, there is a widespread awareness in Europe aimed at the upward harmonization of border surveillance standards that has resulted in information exchange and cooperation projects between the Member States and the FRONTEX agency" .
The Coordination Center of Maritime Surveillance of Coasts and Borders of the Civil Guard has been designated as the National Coordination Center in Spain and following the example of the success achieved in the Canary Islands, last year the creation of the Strait Coordination Center was agreed that, led by a Civil Guard General Officer as the Coordinating Authority against immigration from the Strait, it aims to deter clandestine immigration networks from their criminal activities.
These measures are producing results since according to data from the Ministry of Interior, migrant arrivals through the sea have been reduced by 30.6% so far this year, in relation to the same period of the previous year.
Environmental Protection
On the other hand, the Director General has commented that environmental safety and the preservation of natural resources, is also present in the New Strategic Agenda, with the aim of guaranteeing a legacy to future generations.
Fruit of the fulfillment of this legal mandate, falls to the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA), which has become a world reference in the matter by being the first ecological police whose capabilities exceed the mere administrative action employed as an element of deterrence and control of possible aggressions to the environment.
The protection of nature and the environment is an area in which multiple agencies of the central, regional and local administration concur, with a profuse legislative development. For this reason, the Civil Guard makes available to the competent administrations all its potential, so that, at present, it is frequently required by different international organizations in order to give a joint response to environmental crime. Since 2018, the Civil Guard co-leads the EMPACT initiative for crimes against the environment within the framework of the EU Political Cycle.
Cybersecurity
Regarding Cybersecurity, the Director General has commented that it is part of the strategic map and priorities of all countries and institutions in the world. In particular, the European Union has a European Cybersecurity Strategy and, under its umbrella, Spain has developed its Spanish Cybersecurity Strategy, which seeks to ensure the proper channeling of international initiatives and the coordination of all Public Administrations, among themselves, with the private sector, and with the citizens.
Within the framework of this Strategy, cybersecurity takes on a special importance in the Civil Guard, since it not only focuses on the protection of its own information and communications systems, but also on the fight against cyber terrorism, the persecution of cybercrime , and in providing citizens with the necessary training for the safe and responsible use of the network and new technologies. "It should be noted, for its more direct impact on our citizenship, the fight against technological crime or cybercrime, with three basic axes: the fight against sexual abuse of minors, computer attacks and fraud with means of payment."
Therefore, in the Civil Guard, and with the purpose of promoting an integrative vision of the potential of the Corps in the field of cyberspace, we are very close to operating the Cybersecurity Coordination Unit, the Single Contact Point of the Civil Guard, and in charge of coordinating the actions of its Units and establishing strategic priorities in this area.
Felix Azón has finished his words, expressing his desire that this Summer Course be received as a valuable opportunity to address security from a multidimensional perspective and become an excellent opportunity to deepen the work of the Civil Guard in the fight against Global security threats.
The Civil Guard in the face of global security threats
With this Course, which will be held until the next day 25, it is intended to analyze three areas of National Security such as the management of migratory flows, the preservation of the environment and cybersecurity, as well as knowing the historical trajectory of the Civil Guard in Canary Islands and the commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Body.
It is aimed at members of the Civil Guard, National Police, Armed Forces, Civil Protection, Red Cross, Prosecutor's Office and judiciary of Tenerife, as well as professors and students of the Carlos III and La Laguna universities.
The 107 students enrolled may attend presentations such as “Migration and its effects on economic development. Geopolitical perspective ”,“ 175 years of Civil Guard. Presence in the Islands ”,“ The biodiversity of the Canary Islands and their conservation ”, or“ Cyber threats in the national and international context ”.
175th Anniversary of the Civil Guard
This Course is part of the commemorative events of the 175th anniversary of the creation of the Civil Guard. With these acts, the Civil Guard wants to transmit to the public the values of public service and the constitutional principles for which the Body has worked since the day of its foundation. Fostering the culture of security in today's society and continuing to protect the free exercise of rights and freedoms from honor, are the objective and mission of this Institution that guarantees citizen security.
For any information related to this press release, please contact the Peripheral Communication Office of the Civil Guard Command of Tenerife, at 922.671.652.
