Int'l conference on document fraud, irregular migration kicks off in Istanbul

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - An international conference on detecting travel fraud and combating irregular migration kicked off in Istanbul on Thursday.

The two-day EU-funded conference was organized as part of a project to enhance the capacities of the Turkish national police force and other law enforcement agencies in risk analysis and detecting travel document forgery.

In cooperation with Turkish National Police, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Turkiye held the event, titled "International Conference on Travel Document Fraud Detection and Combating Irregular Migration."

Speaking at the event, Tommaso de Cataldo, the head of migration management at the IOM branch in Turkiye, said that according to current regional and global trends, the use of fraudulent travel documents and IDs at air, land, and sea border crossings remains one of the most common methods of facilitating the irregular movement of people.

The Turkish national police force is "one of the key frontline actors" in the country responsible for the effective identification and investigation of forged documents, de Cataldo underlined.

A joint effort from both national and international stakeholders and partners is needed for the effective identification and investigation of forged documents and to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration, he added.

De Cataldo stressed that the IOM is also committed to support Turkiye and all its member states in strengthening their border management efforts "with a view to increase effectiveness in reducing irregular migration across their borders."

He also voiced support for Turkiye's "tremendous efforts to address irregular migration," adding that they were "especially honored" to do so.

- Turkiye 'intensely' combating document forgery in border management

Also speaking at the event, Deputy Interior Minister Muhterem Ince underlined Turkiye's success in detecting forged travel documents.

"Our fight against document forgery, which plays a key role in the fight against irregular migration at our border gates and against the migrant smugglers who provide these documents, continues intensely," Ince said, pointing out that document forgery is common among irregular immigrants.

He also stressed that Turkish police receive training requests from the police of other countries to help them detect document forgery due to their success in this field.

In addition to the nationwide measures taken against irregular migration, Turkiye also actively participates in international action, Ince said, adding that Ankara cooperates with Germany, the UK, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Iran, and Pakistan in preventing migrant smuggling.