Banjul – IOM, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior (MOI), held a handing over ceremony of equipment to The Gambia Immigration Department (GID).

The ceremony was held on the 8^th November at the GID Headquarters in Banjul, under the framework of the project “Enhancing collective capacity for managing borders and for protecting border communities: The Gambia and Senegal”, funded by the Government of Japan.

The project objective is to enhance border security between The Gambia and Senegal, and the donation of the equipment is in line with the recently validated Comprehensive Border Assessment Report, which provides recommendations on priority areas of support needed to strengthen the capacity of the GID.

Equipment and furniture that were donated to support GID in their important work include: 7 motorcycles, 21 office filing cabinets, 28 office chairs, 14 office desks and 120 security touch lights with flash. Also included in the donation were 200 copies of the Comprehensive Border Assessment Report.

A subsequent handing over of additional equipment is scheduled for December 2018. Equipment to be donated include: 7 binoculars with infra-red capability for border controls, 2 document authenticity and verification device Regula 4103, 45 magnifier lenses CFM 8X18, 2 renewable energy installations Solar PV panels (including batteries, regulators and invertors) and 45 UV lamps UV-1140 twin lamp ultraviolet document viewers.

Additionally, IOM will be organizing a Training of Trainers (TOTs) workshop on document examination, security and protection of vulnerable migrants for 12 officers of GID. The TOTs will further train 30 frontline immigration officers within the department to enhance their skills in document examination and protection of vulnerable migrants at various Ports of Entry in the Gambia.

The project will further address cooperation on border management between Gambian and Senegalese authorities through joint trainings and engagements both at the operational and policy level. Finally, border communities will be engaged in the project to create awareness on border-related threats through the increase in communication, coordination and cooperation with national and local authorities.

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For more information, please contact Miko Alazas, at IOM Gambia; Tel: +2203303138, Email: aalazas@iom.int.