IOM has organized a two-day training in document analysis and
examination for 20 Police Special Branch officers responsible for
immigration in Bangladesh.

The training, which was part of an ongoing technical cooperation
programme funded by Australia, was the first of its kind in
Bangladesh and was conducted by an IOM expert.

"This workshop teaches participants about different techniques
of intelligence gathering and investigative methods after the
detection of a fraudulent document. It gives them hands on practice
in the investigation and verification of fake documents," says IOM
technical expert Sjef Broekhaar, who led the course.

The opening session of the training was attended by IOM Regional
Representative Rabab Fatima, the Head of the Special Branch, the
Additional Inspector General of Bangladesh Police, the Secretary of
the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Australian High
Commissioner.

"The phenomenal growth of legal movement of people from
Bangladesh is a cause to celebrate, but the large number of
irregular travel negates the country's image abroad as well. IOM
remains committed to support promotion of safe migration from
Bangladesh and to strengthening border management to control
irregular movement," said Rabab.

IOM's technical cooperation programme has supported the Special
Branch in various ways, including the establishment of a Document
Analysis Centres, online connectivity of major international ports,
equipment support and professional training.  It also
supported the preparatory work of the government's roll-out of
machine readable passports by April 2010.

"Modern immigration management is today a global demand for
safeguarding national security and combating cross border crime and
terrorism. The government is committed to work together with all
other relevant actors in combating such crime and irregular
migration," said the Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikdar.

The Australian High Commissioner Dr. Justin Lee said that IOM is
setting an example and building confidence in improving border
management regimes in the region.

For more information please contact:

Asif Munier

IOM Dhaka

Email:  "mailto:amunier@iom.int">amunier@iom.int

or

Marufa Akter

Tel. +880.2.988.9765

Email: "mailto:makter@iom.int">makter@iom.int