Govt signs security agreement with UN body

The government has signed an agreement with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) to strengthen cooperation in the prevention of terrorism and transnational organised crime.

The Letter of Agreement (LoA) is intended to accelerate the delivery of technical assistance to Ghana under the United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel (CT Travel) programme, build national capacities and support efforts to address threats associated with the travel of terrorists through the use of advance passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR).

The Director of UNOCT, Mauro Miedico, and the Minister of National Security of Ghana, Albert Kan-Dapaah, signed the agreement at a forum to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the UN's Countering Terrorist Travel Programme in Budapest, Hungary.

Commitment

Mr Kan-Dapaah expressed appreciation for the support provided by UNOCT and emphasised Ghana’s commitment to implement the agreed measures effectively.

For his part, Mr Miedico thanked the government for the ongoing cooperation and collaboration with UNOCT, highlighting the significance of the partnership in enhancing national and regional security.

He said the effective processing and analysis of passenger data were essential to the identification, detection and interception of those who posed a terrorism-related threat, as well as other serious criminals, including those that might be unknown to authorities, before, during and after travel.

The LoA will allow the UN to continue with its support to Ghana to enhance its capabilities to detect and intercept terrorists and other criminals.

This is in line with Security Council resolutions 2178 (2014), 2396 (2017), and 2482 (2019), which call upon member states to ensure airlines operating in their territories provide API and PNR data to the appropriate national authorities in order to detect place of departure, attempted entry into or transit through their territories, Mr Miedico added.

Background

The UN Countering Terrorist Travel programme was launched in 2019 to support member states to respond to the growing threat posed by the movement of foreign terrorist fighters.

The programme is a global initiative that aims to build capacities of member states to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences and other serious crimes, including their related travel, by collecting and analysing passenger data, both API and PNR, in line with Security Council resolutions, international standards and best practices and human rights principles.

The flagship global initiative, led by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, follows a ‘’One-UN’’ approach to provide comprehensive assistance to beneficiary member states, together with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology, the International Criminal Police Organisation, and the International Organisation for Migration.

The programme is currently working closely with 76 member states across the globe, 57 of which are beneficiaries of the programme’s technical assistance, as well as promoting regional cooperation through the sharing of lessons learnt and good practices in the area of passenger data exchange.