Securing passports focus of OSCE workshop in Moldova

CHISINAU, 5 July 2012 - A two-day workshop designed to promote the benefits of participating in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Public Key Directory (PKD), a passport verification mechanism, concluded today in Chisinau.

The workshop, which was organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department/Action against Terrorism Unit (TNTD/ATU) in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Moldova, brought together 15 Moldovan representatives from passport, border, intelligence and information technology agencies to learn how the ICAO PKD functions as a multilateral technical platform to validate the authenticity of electronic passports. Participants discussed how Moldova could improve identity verification at its borders through participation in ICAO PKD.

“This workshop aims to assist Moldova in issuing more secure and trusted electronic passports, which should be introduced in conjunction with participation in the ICAO PKD,” said Maurice Dunand from the OSCE Mission to Moldova at the opening.
During the event, OSCE officials met with state representatives to discuss further co-operation and assistance in implementing a robust national identity management system to prevent criminals and terrorists from obtaining legitimate identity documents under false identities.

The workshop built on previous OSCE assistance to Moldova in the area of travel document security, including a border control enhancement project in which 16 border crossing points and 11 regional police stations were connected with real-time access to INTERPOL databases, as well as a training course to increase the operational awareness of border control authorities to detect forged documents.