The Regional Informal Working Group Platform has been newly redesigned to enhance the Countering Terrorist Travel Programme's increasingly global and regional focus. The new platform streamlines the previous version, offering a smoother user interface for members of the four regional Informal Working Groups (IWGs) platforms on Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Records (PNR): West & Central Africa (W&C IWG), Southern Africa (SA IWG), Eastern Africa (EA IWG), and South-East Asia (SEA IWG). Currently, there are 600+ registered online members across these four active IWGs. Additionally, over 35 Member States have joined their respective regional IWG forums on the platform.
The IWGs follow the successful model of the European Union Regional Informal Working Group on Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Records (PNR). This group began as an informal dialogue among EU member states to implement EU Directives related to API and PNR. Over time, it evolved into a technical forum to discuss industry and technical challenges.
The structure of each regional IWG follows a secretariat approach, first implemented with the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA IWG). In this model, the Secretariat, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), acts as both the organizing body and moderator for the EECA regional IWG page on the platform. The Secretariat for each region is responsible for scheduling quarterly online virtual sub-working group meetings and managing the logistics and event planning for the annual in-person meeting. Each IWG also has a Chair who sets the agenda and key discussion topics at the IWG level, along with co-chairs for each of the pillar sub-working groups: Legislative, Operational, Transport Industry, and Technology.
Each pillar sub-working group is led by a relevant national entity from one of the countries in the region, with support from a UN implementing partner.
For the Legislative pillar, this is typically the Civil Aviation Authority or the Ministry of Justice, with UN support provided by the UNODC's Terrorism Prevention Branch.
Operationally, it is usually a nationally mandated authority such as national security or police, with support from the UNODC's AIRCOP.
From the Transport Industry side, it is usually the Civil Aviation Authority, supported by the UN's ICAO.
Lastly, the Technology pillar, which includes the goTravel software, is supported by the UNOCT's goTravel Technology team.
Lastly, a new regional informal working group for the Middle East and North Africa region is envisioned in 2025. This expansion aims to further support and raise awareness of United Nations security obligations on API and PNR among these member states and create dialogue for collaboration.
The Regional Informal Working Group Platform is a global portal hosted on SharePoint for 600+ users from our CT Travel community.
It includes sites for six Regional IWGs, and access to the International Users Community (IUC).
Click here to access the Regional Informal Working Group Platform.
