Newsroom
OSCE's Skopje Mission co-hosts international workshop on travel documentation
SKOPJE 1 April 2003
SKOPJE, 1 April 2003 - A three-day workshop in Ohrid will look at ways to control and identify fraudulent and counterfeit travel documentation, as well as the use of legal travel documents for illegal purposes, such as trafficking in human beings.
The regional workshop on travel documentation, which will start tomorrow, is organized by the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) of the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, together with the Police Development Unit (PDU) of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje and the Ministry of Interior.
Bart D'Hooge, Director of the PDU at the OSCE Mission says: "The workshop will give participants the chance to not only review and address the situation but also to facilitate and enhance regional co-operation."
The workshop will also address a number of other issues, including
Senior experts from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia and the host country will participate in the workshop. These experts will present in-country evaluations of priority issues related to travel documentation, collaborate directly with relevant experts from neighbouring states, and compare lessons learned in practical working groups and in plenary sessions.
The workshop will also benefit from the participation of travel document and terrorism experts from EU member states and the United States for insights and lessons learned from initiatives outside the region. Officials from the international community represented in the country are invited as observers.
The regional workshop on travel documentation, which will start tomorrow, is organized by the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) of the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, together with the Police Development Unit (PDU) of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje and the Ministry of Interior.
Bart D'Hooge, Director of the PDU at the OSCE Mission says: "The workshop will give participants the chance to not only review and address the situation but also to facilitate and enhance regional co-operation."
The workshop will also address a number of other issues, including
- the capacity of law enforcement officials with regard to border security and controls,
- the level of expertise of border police and their deployment,
- the interdiction of counterfeit travel documents and passports,
- the storage and sharing of information with regard to border traffic, and
- the gathering, analysis, storage, and retrieval of information related to convicted or suspected criminals.
Senior experts from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia and the host country will participate in the workshop. These experts will present in-country evaluations of priority issues related to travel documentation, collaborate directly with relevant experts from neighbouring states, and compare lessons learned in practical working groups and in plenary sessions.
The workshop will also benefit from the participation of travel document and terrorism experts from EU member states and the United States for insights and lessons learned from initiatives outside the region. Officials from the international community represented in the country are invited as observers.