Today, on February 13, 2024, a ceremony was held to officially open a specialised training room for document security courses at the Passport and Residency Directorate of the Ministry of Interior of Iraq. The event was attended by senior officials of the Ministry, including the Advisor to the Minister on Training and the Director General of the Passport and Residency Directorate.
The training room was refurbished and equipped with the support of the European Union within the framework of the IBM in Silk Routes countries project, implemented by the ICMPD. It is furnished with modern training equipment, enabling the Ministry of Interior to conduct interactive, state-of-the-art training sessions for officers from across the country in the future. However, the ceremony aimed not only to celebrate the opening of the training room but also the achievements of the document security-related work undertaken with the MoI over the last three years.
Collaborating with excellent trainers and experts in forensics, document security, and didactics, and aiming to achieve sustainable capacity development at the institutional level, ICMPD initiated its first document security programme back in 2021. This programme followed a multi-phase methodology, which included training on basic and advanced levels, Train the Trainer sessions, supported pilot trainings, and observed independent delivery. The same approach was adopted for the ToT programme on profiling and interviewing at borders conducted in 2022. Coordinating all efforts with the Ministry’s Training and Qualification Directorate, the second document security programme commenced last year and will, by March 2024, equip officers from all Iraqi international airports with advanced knowledge and skills to conduct document examinations with a higher degree of professionalism and efficiency.
Hand in hand with the ToT programmes, there were discussions on enhanced information exchange on document security for airport staff, the development of a training curriculum, and Trainer’s manuals. The only “missing element” was the establishment of a specialised training room and the provision of document security equipment for training purposes and for operational work at Iraqi airports. The opening of the training room allowed all parties involved to reflect on the work done and discuss the best ways to ensure the sustainability of the achieved results for the benefit of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.
