Thailand - A major 3-day conference on border management jointly organized by IOM and the Asia Pacific Smart Card Association opened in Thailand today (2/12).

The Third Conference on Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building for Border Managementbrings together governments, international organizations, customs officials, border guards, police and industry representatives to discuss improved border management.

It aims to share state-of the-art solutions for improving existing and next-generation information systems with Asia-Pacific governments, immigration officials, border management agencies and related participants.

A trade fair on the fringes of the event is showcasing the latest technology which, according to the organizers, may now look like science fiction, but will be as ubiquitous as the smartphone by 2025.

Opening the conference in front of 300 delegates, IOM Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Andrew Bruce stressed the impact that the rapid advance in technology was having on IOM’s work and beyond.

“One of the classic areas that border management systems and officials are involved in is the prevention of human smuggling and trafficking. In terms of smuggling, the traditional approach has been to exclusively focus on the law enforcement aspects. These remain vitally important in combating this crime. But we now realize that we must take a more holistic, nuanced approach,” he noted, citing IOM’s increasing development of identity-recognition software as one example.

Today’s programme covers the challenges posed by terrorism, organized crime, biometrics and electronic passports. As the conference progresses, representatives from governments and international agencies will present case studies from around the world.

The conference will end on Thursday (4/11) with a series of workshops on information systems and technology.

For more information please contact

Sjef Broekhaar

IOM Asia-Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok

Email: sbroekhaar@iom.int

Tel. +66.899943366