By: Mohamed M. Sesay
The United Nations has called on West African Countries to use Countering Terrorism Travel Programme which is a global initiative that aims to build Member States capacities, in order to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences and other serious crimes, including their related travel, by collecting and analyzing passenger data, both API and PNR, in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions, international standards and best practices and human rights principles.
This was disclosed in a press statement that more than 70 representatives from border law enforcement, security, and civil aviation agencies from 17 West African countries met in Freetown for the First Meeting of the West Africa Regional Informal Working Group (IWG) under the framework of the Countering Terrorist Travel Programme.
The press Statement from the United Nation notes that as global travel resumes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of terrorist groups and other transnational organized crime groups, will continue to take advantage of existing pressures on air, land and maritime borders across the globe thereby, exploiting the increasing connectivity offered by airlines in all regions of the world.
The Press Statement furthers that the collection and processing of Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Records (PNR), are therefore an essential tool to combat transnational crimes, through the identification, detection, and interception of terrorist, including Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), and other serious criminals.
The Press Release also intimates that the AIRCOP is implemented by UNODC in partnership with INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization. It adds that the AIRCOP aims at strengthening the capacities of international airports to target and intercept high-risk passengers, cargo, and mail, as a contribution to the fight against illicit drugs and other illicit commodities (such as wildlife products or falsified medical products), terrorism-related threats (such as arms or potential foreign terrorist fighters), trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.
Moreover, the release also discloses that the AIRCOP also aims at facilitating communication and coordination between origin, transit, and destination countries to disrupt cross-border illicit flows and criminal networks. “The AIRCOP is active in more than 40 countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, South-Eastern Europe, and South-East Asia.”
The press statement continues that the joint UNOCT and UNODC meetingwas hosted by the Government of Sierra Leone which serves as the inaugural meeting of the West Africa IWG. It reveals that the event allowed participants to gain a better understanding of the efforts being made by Member States in the region adding that, International databases, API and PNR collection in various cross-border transportation modalities, legal frameworks, and real-time communication channels were key points of discussion.
Implemented through an “All-of-UN” approach, the press statement affirms that the CT Travel Programme is led by the United Nations Office on Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) and implemented in close partnership with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (through the Airport Communication Programme, AIRCOP, and the Terrorism Prevention Branch), the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
