Moshi, Kilimanjaro, United Republic of Tanzania — 10 July, The IOM African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC) and IOM The Gambia in partnership with the Government of the Republic of The Gambia, started a Training-of-Trainers (ToT) on Document Security - Passport Examination Procedures Manual (PEPM) II for 8 senior officials of Gambia Immigration Department (GID).
The training, hosted under the auspices of the IOM The Gambia project, “Enhancing Border Management Capacities of the Government of The Gambia to Promote Peace, Stability and Security” with funding from the Government of Japan, is aimed at enhancing the operational systems, human resources, administrative and technical capacities of border management authorities to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people; mitigate security threats transnational organized crime; and positively promote peace, stability and security along important transport corridors in The Gambia.
The GID officials’ participation in the training will conclude with a visit to a One Stop Border Post (OSBP) between The United Republic of Tanzania’s and the Republic of Kenya to appreciate application of skills acquired during the weeklong training in facilitating human mobility and trade by operationalizing the African Union’s Free Movement Protocol and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) policy frameworks.
The training is also aligned with the United Nations Legal Identity Agenda (UNLIA) and the AU Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Agenda, that seek to ensure Member States citizens have access to Legal Identity including through timely registration of birth which is a critical enabler for accessing travel documents that actualize regional integration through human mobility and trade. The Document Security training will equip officials with knowledge and skills to detect document fraudsters and improve securing the borders of the country while facilitating trade and human mobility in support of the African Union’s Free Movement Protocol and African Continent Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Mr. Mpilo Nkomo, the ACBC Senior Immigration and Border Governance Specialist, on behalf of IOM and the Centre Manager welcomed all participants to the ACBC and to the Kilimanjaro Region of the United Republic of Tanzania. In his welcome remarks, he introduced the ACBC as a response to a specific request by IOM’s African Member States in 2009 for further capacity development support in migration management. He noted that the Centre had facilitated training and other capacity development initiatives for more than 8,000 government officials in all 54 of IOM’s African Member States since 2009, adding that the Centre has maintained its traditional focus on border management themes, including document security, while also responding to Member State requests for capacity development in international law and human rights protection, maritime security and search and rescue at sea, labour migration, and health as the Centre’s expansion agenda on ensuring the Centre provides capacity development in all facets of migration management.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Stephen Matete, IOM Interim Chief of Mission in the Gambia said, “The training will enhance migration officials’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes to detect and prevent the use of fraudulent and counterfeit travel documents to foster regional, international cooperation on the exchange of information to facilitate safe and orderly migration while mitigating security threats and cross-border organized crime “
In his opening statement, Commissioner Foday Gassama, the Head of Delegation for the Government of the Republic of the Gambia said, ‘’ The trained officials will eventually, not only serve as users of the fraud detection laboratory but also function as trainers for many frontline security officials ensuring proper identification of travellers for effective border control.’’
It is envisaged that the trained trainers will constitute a pool of trainers for the GID in The Gambia that will sustain the Government’s efforts of enhancing its border management capacities in line with its national development agenda. Finally, the project will support the Gambia Immigration Department to establish its document fraud detection unit laboratory. `
For more information, please contact Mr. Mpilo Nkomo, IOM African Capacity Building Centre (Tel: +255(0)785736072, Email: mnkomo@iom.int) or Stephen Matete , IOM The Gambia (Tel: +220 3303175, Email: smatete@iom.int).