OSCE trains border guards in Kazakhstan on detection of forged documents

A five-day OSCE-supported training seminar on the detection of forged travel documents and identification techniques concluded on 23 November 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Twenty-three border guards from Kazakhstan’s Border Guard Service under the National Security Committee took part in the course. It was led by experts from the Document Advisors Team of Austria’s Federal Interior Ministry. The seminar aimed to build capacity in ensuring international document security and identifying falsified travel documents at border checkpoints.

The participants, representing Almaty International Airport and different land border-crossing points, were trained on the processes of security paper production, the use of paper and polymer substrates in document security, conventional printing techniques, photo protection and secondary verification.

The curriculum included practical exercises with confiscated falsified documents and genuine travel documents from a multitude of countries. This provided the participants with an opportunity to apply their newly learned skills.

The seminar was organized within the Travel Document Security Programme of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department. It was conducted by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in co-operation with the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Office of the United States Embassy in Kazakhstan and the Border Guard Service under the National Security Committee.

The activity was part of the Programme Office’s long-term effort to promote the OSCE border security concept in Kazakhstan.