OSCE and Finnish Border Guard enhance Ukraine’s capacity to detect forged documents

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department held a two-week training course on detecting forged documents and impostors at border crossing points for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) in Krakow, Poland, from 24 February to 7 March. The course enhanced the knowledge of 28 Ukrainian border guards on international document standards, security features, printing techniques, and emerging trends in the forgery of travel documents.

The hands-on training was jointly delivered by two experts from the Main Forensic Center of SBGS and two document experts from the Finnish Border Guard. The Finnish experts provided an overview of their country’s national travel documents and latest counterfeits discovered in Finland and neighbouring countries. They also conducted a new training module on forgeries of driver's licenses and vehicle registration documents.

The participants enhanced their understanding of the latest trends in document forgery and explored numerous security features embedded in travel documents by analysing genuine, forged and counterfeit travel documents with magnifiers provided by the OSCE. Through these activities, the participants enhanced their technical skills and practical expertise in identifying counterfeit documents that often underpin a range of criminal activities, including illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, narcotics and human beings.

This two-week training course marked the third training cycle organized by the OSCE for the SBGS since 2023, increasing the total number of trainees to over 75. So far, nearly 80 per cent of the Ukrainian border guards who participated in these OSCE training courses have indicated that they apply their newly acquired skills in their daily work. Many have successfully identified counterfeit residence permits, medical and pension certificates, and passports thanks to OSCE training initiatives. The training cycle will continue with a training-of-trainers course for a smaller cohort of participants selected from this group later this year.

The training course was part of an ongoing project supporting the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation in reducing the illegal crossing of borders by using a fake or stolen identity. This project is generously funded by the United States of America.