The UN Migration Agency (IOM)'s African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC) in Tanzania hosted a training course on travel document security and fraud detection from 31 July to 4 August.

The training was jointly implemented by IOM and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with the objective of building the capacity of African States on border control and migration management. The trainees were border control management and aviation systems officials from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The two UN agencies collaborate to promote and facilitate the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation in global air travel and in border and identity management. This collaboration, including in the area of traveller identification management, is underpinned by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two UN agencies in November 2016.

IOM and ICAO assist Member States in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management, advancing the understanding of migration issues, encouraging social and economic development through migration, and upholding the human dignity and well-being of migrants through efficient immigration and border management policies and structures.

Dr Qasim Sufi, IOM Tanzania Chief of Mission, spoke (in Swahili) at the conclusion of the training.

“This training is one of the most important and concrete steps forward so far in achieving the objectives of the signed MoU between the two UN agencies, especially in the domain of border control and migration management,” said Sufi in his closing remarks.

The training was composed of two sessions: Part I – the ICAO Training Package “Control of authenticity and validity of travel documents at airport borders - Level 1” carried out by ICAO qualified instructors; and Part II – the ACBC Passport Examination Procedure Manual II (PEPMII) and biometrics conducted by an IOM ACBC expert. The training enhanced the knowledge and skills of participants in performing efficient travel document examination and traveller risk assessment with the aim of intercepting high-risk individuals while expediting legitimate traveller movements across international borders.

The ICAO/IOM training session was carried out thanks to funding from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the implementation of the ICAO Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Security and Facilitation in Africa (AFI SECFAL Plan) and is the first of three training courses planned for African Member States under this initiative.

The ICAO Training Package, “Control of the authenticity and validity of travel document at airport borders – Level 1”: https://www.icao.int/Training/Pages/TDexam.aspx

The IOM Training Manual on Passport Examination Procedure II (PEPMII):
https://publications.iom.int/books/passport-examination-procedure-manual-second-edition

For more information, please contact Nelson Goncalves at IOM Tanzania, Tel: +255688700090, Email: ngoncalves@iom.int  and Eric Henri Segura at ICAO, Tel: +221338692424, Email: Esegura@icao.int