Organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)’ Countering Terrorist Travel (‘CT Travel’) Programme for 37 participants of the competent authorities of Government Agencies of the Republic of Namibia, an interactive training took place from 3 to 7 October 2022 in Windhoek. This unique training aimed to strengthen participants’ capacity towards establishing, managing and maintaining an Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) system to prevent, detect, and investigate individuals suspected of terrorism or other serious crimes using travel information. The course was organized around key modules, including the threat environment, international legal and regulatory framework related to API and PNR data, the operationalization of a Passenger Information Unit, state and industry engagement, and technological support and the ‘goTravel’ software. Participants were able to engage through a mix of live and online sessions, case studies and exercises facilitated by CT Travel Programme Partners and international experts.
Nominated representatives from law enforcement, border security, customs, intelligence, airport authority and civil aviation agencies from Namibia participated in the five-day training. Flagging the importance of the international framework for countering terrorist travel using passenger data, Mr. Nehemia Nghishekwa, Chief of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security of the Republic of Namibia highlighted that ‘’Namibia as an emerging economy and active global partner cannot afford to be ''left behind'' in terms of Global Best Practices of countering terrorism and other trans-national organized crimes. Hence Namibia's undertaking to acquire the Advanced Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems to effectively aid the fight against terrorism. I therefore impress on all participants to be dedicated and actively participate during this five-day intensive training on countering terrorism and thereafter to fruitfully implement all knowledge gained‘’.
With gender mainstreaming being a key priority of the CT Travel Programme, the audience was close to full gender parity amongst registered participants and female experts were among the international experts facilitating the course. The CT Travel training for Namibia is a part of the wider comprehensive assistance the Programme provides to UN Member States to process and analyse not only API and PNR from air carriers for the purposes of detecting and countering the travel of terrorists and serious criminals, but also data in the maritime and other domains.
A flagship global initiative of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the Programme follows an ‘’All-of-UN’’ approach to provide comprehensive, yet tailored assistance to beneficiary Member States, with the support of six implementing partners United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), the , the , the the and the .
Currently supporting 53 beneficiary Member States across the globe, the CT Travel Programme assists beneficiary Member States in enhancing their national capabilities to detect and intercept terrorists and serious criminals by using passenger travel data and cross-checking against INTERPOL, and other international and national databases of known and suspected terrorists and criminals, in accordance with Security Council resolutions (2014), (2017), and (2019), as well as ICAO standards and recommended practices, other international law obligations, relevant privacy laws, and human rights principles. The Programme also promotes regional cooperation through enhanced information exchange and sharing of lessons learned and good practices.