Passenger data exchange to counter terrorist travel focus of OSCE-UN seminar

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department and United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) delivered the 7th Passenger Data Exchange Seminar as a back-to back event with the 3rd in-person meeting of the Eastern European Informal Working Group on Passenger Data (EE IWG) on 8-10 November 2023.

“In an era marked by global terrorism threats and ever-increasing security challenges, the exchange of Advance Passenger Information between airlines and competent state authorities has taken centre stage in bolstering national security, aviation safety and the protection of state borders. This collaborative endeavour serves as a robust defence mechanism against the movement of foreign terrorist fighters and other potential security risks,” said Marijan Pop-Angelov, representative of the 2023 OSCE Chairpersonship.

The event gathered almost one hundred passenger data experts both in person and online to put into practice the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2396 and identify needs for technical assistance across the EE IWG member states. The resolution aims to prevent the return of foreign terrorist fighters and, to do so, it mandates strengthening border security by establishing passenger data exchange systems, bilateral and multilateral information-sharing as well as collecting Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data.

The experts emphasized the need to establish human rights-focused passenger data legislation as well as technical and financial support in applying it. They also highlighted the benefits of engaging with airlines from the early stage and how to analyse and profile passenger data. IT service providers presented their API/PNR analysis systems.  

This year's event focused on Eastern Europe, with discussions held among IWG member States from the region.

Eastern European Informal Working Group on Passenger Data is a part of the UNOCT Countering Terrorist Travel Programme global initiative. It serves as a forum for technical exchange on methodologies in travellers’ data collection, technologies development, new applications of passenger data frameworks and exploring security analyses across different modes of travel. It currently consists of eighteen member states: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Serbia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.