DCAF trains Senior Immigration officers on the Collaborative Approach and Integrated Border Management (IBM) 

By David Kujabi

DCAF Banjul office has convened a two-day training workshop for the Gambia Immigration Department (GID), senior officers on Collaborative Approach, and Integrated Border Management (IBM). The workshop aims at building the capacity of senior officers on IBM through discussions onissues around challenges related to information sharing, cooperation, and coordination. The workshop, held at the Metzy Hotel in Senegambia, is being attended by twenty-fourofficers comprising the GID Commissioner of Operations, Commissioner of Migration Management, RegionalCommissioners, Operations Commanders, and area officers. 

During the opening ceremony, the DCAF – Banjul Senior Border Management Adviser and Deputy Head of Office said that as frontline officers at border posts, Immigration Officers needed to work aligned with international best standards. He further delved into the importance of reviewing the GID Act of 1965 to ensure that it reflects contemporary migration issues. The representative noted that DCAF is fully committed to strengthening the GID’s efficiency and accountability. 

Speaking on behalf of the GID Director General, Commissioner Foday Gassama head of the Migration Management Unit, expressed delight in DCAF providing the much-needed training. “As officers responsible for the management of movement, it is paramount that we have the requisite knowledge to guide us in professionally undertaking our work,” he said. Commissioner Gassama thanked DCAF for its partnership and support. 

With resource persons drawn from GID, DCAF, and IOM, the trainees will be taken through topics ranging from trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, protection of vulnerable migrants, transnational organized crime, and migrant smuggling and security. When asked his expectations from the training, Superintendent Ebrima Ceesay, one of the trainees, said, “I hope that by the end of this training, I will be able to understand better the concept of integrated border management and how I can use that the foster effective cooperation between our partners in the migration sector.”

Background 

Integrated Border Management (IBM) calls for cooperation and coordination between all actors involved in border management at both national and international levels. The initiative seeks to improve communication, information exchange, and mutual assistance of and between border authorities to manage state borders effectively and efficiently.