OSCE holds high-level seminar on travel document security in Banja Luka

BANJA LUKA, 23 October 2008 - A two-day high-level seminar on security standards for issuing and producing travel documents started in Bosnia and Herzegovina today.

Participants in the meeting, which was co-organized by the OSCE Action against Terrorism Unit with the Agency for Identification Documents, Data Registers and Data Exchange of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IDDEEA), include international experts and representatives from the Interior Ministries of both entities, municipality offices dealing with changes in civil status, border police and criminal investigation, as well as the consular department of the Foreign Ministry.

"An upgrade to a new travel document provides a good opportunity to modernize and secure the handling and issuance process. A vital tool in this regard is the development of a modern, secure, transparent and comprehensive civil registration system that safeguards and verifies the identities of citizens, particularly in the document application process," said Dimitar Jalnev, the Programme Co-ordinator with the OSCE's Action against Terrorism Unit.

Speaking at the seminar, Sinisa Macan, Director of IDDEEA, encouraged the participants to use the event to learn more about international travel document security standards. Giorgio Blais, Director of the Banja Luka Office for the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, outlined the different areas of activity of the Bosnia and Herzegovina governmental institutions, including the ones discussed at the seminar.

The seminar was organized to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in the roll-out of its new passport and identity card, as well as its administrative reforms related to the data registration and exchange system. The discussions will be complemented by an on-site visit to the document personalization centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in Banja Luka.

The high-level seminar was funded by the United States government and organized in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.