Making travel documents secure focus of OSCE workshop in Vienna

VIENNA, 19 July 2007 - Helping OSCE countries improve the security of passports and other travel documents is the focus of a two-day workshop organized by the OSCE Action against Terrorism Unit in co-operation with the International Civil Aviation Organization that began in Vienna today.

"Upgrading travel and identity document security is important not only with regard to countering terrorism, but also to protect our citizens against identity theft and other forms of crime," OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said during the meeting's opening.

The workshop is part of work to help the 56 OSCE participating States fulfil decisions they took in 2003 that call for passports to be machine-readable and have digitized photos; for the handling and issuing of passports and other documents to be improved, and for biometric data to be inserted in passports when possible. The workshop also encourages OSCE countries to use the Interpol database on lost and stolen travel documents.

"Improving passport security, including handling and issuance systems, is an important tool in the fight against terrorism," said Karl Wycoff, the head of the OSCE's Action against Terrorism Unit. "This workshop will show us how to do that."

More than 200 travel document security officials, from OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation, OSCE field operations, international organizations and the private sector are participating in the meeting, which is financed by Spain.