IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Security Repatriation and Departure Service (RDS) of the Netherlands and the General Directorate of Immigration of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, conducted a five-day Training of Trainers (ToT) on “Security Document and Fraud Detection Teaching Methodology” in Moshi from 26-30 November.

The training was based on the Passport Examination Procedures Manual Second Edition (PEPMII) and gathered 12 immigration officers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Immigration Department.

Seven participants attended one previous training on the same thematic area; the remaining five had already undergone two basic trainings that were all facilitated by the IOM ACBC in 2017 and 2018 and thus conducted the current ToT for the other seven.

The training focused on principles of adult learning and on presentation skills by utilizing a participatory training methodology, interactive discussions and in-depth reflection based on PEPM II and real time simulations of border control post in the ACBC’s newly upgraded forensic laboratory - funded by the Dutch Government under the direct supervision of the IOM ACBC IBM training Specialist Nelson Goncalves. This has increased the capability of trained immigration officers to detect fraudulent documents and to identify fraud effectively.

The selection criteria of the participants for the ToT course were based on their performance during the initial training as well as their professional experiences, with the ultimate objective of creating a pool of trainers to train other immigration officers in this important domain of migration with the goal of preventing human smuggling in DRC and in Africa.

“Building national capacity towards self-sustainability is one of IOM/ACBC’s main objectives and vision as training institution,” said Nelson Goncalves, IOM ACBC IBM training Specialist. “The DRC Immigration Department is now starting to build up its internal pool of trainers, a key step to improving its border management and security.”

“I’m very grateful for the funding from the Ministry of Security and Justice of the Netherlands. It has enabled us to increase both the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of immigration officers from four African countries — DRC, Somalia, Liberia and Tanzania — in this important domain of migration with ultimate goal of combatting human smuggling, a phenomenon which is unfortunately rampant in this region,” said Dr Qasim SUFI, IOM Tanzania Chief of Mission. “It is my hope that the Ministry of Security and Justice of the Netherlands will continue funding IOM for the same objective in the near future.”

The ToT was carried out under the auspices of the “Enhancing Migration Management in African states through Capacity Building on Integrated Border Management and Countering Irregular Migration” project, funded by the Ministry of Security and Justice of the Netherlands.

For more information please contact IOM ACBC Tanzania:
Nelson Goncalves, Tel: +255 2727 53 488, Email: ngoncalves@iom.int
Pamela Kyando, Tel: +255 769 95 4181, Email pkyando@iom.int