OSCE anti-terrorism unit organizes regional travel document workshop in Sofia

SOFIA, 1 July 2005 - International standards in travel document handling and ways to improve existing practices in the region were the focus of an OSCE-organized workshop held in Sofia on 29 and 30 June.

It brought together experts from passport services, as well as the interior and foreign ministries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia and Turkey.

The event, organized by the OSCE Action against Terrorism Unit (ATU), hosted by the Interior Ministry of Bulgaria and funded by the United States Government, was the first regional workshop of its kind.

Bulgaria's Deputy Interior Minister, Boyko Kotzev, said, "My country has placed particular importance on the various aspects of travel document security by upgrading identity and travel documents."

He encouraged exchanging relevant experience and expertise among countries in the region to more effectively achieve the common goal of travel document security.

It focused on the key issues of handling and issuance of travel documents, an important element in the OSCE Ministerial Decision on Travel Document Security, adopted in Maastricht in 2003.

Experts from the UK Passport Service, Bulgaria's Institute of Computer Technologies and the European Commission provided information on the latest standards and recommended practices in travel document security, including the latest biometric technologies.

The results of a July 2004 questionnaire among OSCE participating States on travel document security highlighted the need to address national differences before common standards can be reached.

The workshop complemented the ATU's previous efforts to enhance regional co-operation on the detection of forged travel documents.