Bangui – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the US Department of State for Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) is supporting the Central African Republic’s efforts in integrated border governance. On 17 May 2024, represented by IOM’s Chief of Mission in the Central African Republic (CAR), Mr Bakary Doumbia, IOM officially handed over a building for the Beloko special police station, equipped with the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS), to the Ministry of the Interior in charge of Public Security in the presence of the Ambassador of the United States of America to the CAR.

The construction of the facility in the town of Beloko (Nana-Mambéré Prefecture) by IOM mission in CAR is part of the project entitled “Strengthening border security to combat transnational threats, including movements of illicit goods and violent extremism in CAR, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia and Somalia” (Renforcement de la sécurité des frontières pour combattre les menaces transnationales, notamment les mouvements de marchandises illicites et l’extrémisme violent en RCA, au Kenya, à Madagascar, en Namibie et en Somalie), which aims to build border officials’ capacity to move from manual processing of migration-related information to an automated system to make the processing of information on travellers crossing borders more efficient and enable in-depth analysis of migration data.

In a bid to give the Central African Government full capacity, IOM held training sessions from 7 to 11 May 2024 for five (5) officers from the Immigration and Police Department, including a Police Commissioner, all of whom were based at the new Special Police Station in the town of Beloko. These capacity-building sessions enabled the officers to learn how to use MIDAS, and become independent in processing travellers’ biometric data, thereby contributing to more efficient and secure migration flow management.

“We are working in partnership with the Central African Republic for peace and prosperity for the Central African people, and the handover of this building with the migration flow control system is a striking symbol of our long-standing commitment as a partner of the Central African Republic. The overall goal of this programme is to address complex cross-border security challenges and contribute to peace, security, stability, and a better future for the Central African Republic. The United States wants to support the Central African Republic in building effective strategic trade and border control systems that meet international standards,” said Her Excellency Patricia MAHONEY, Ambassador of the United States of America to CAR, at the facility handover ceremony.

Made up of an office for the Police Commissioner, a server room, MIDAS workstations, an investigation office and a waiting room, the new police station has also been equipped with new IT equipment. The equipment received will enable the station to move from manual data processing to a modern system for collecting and managing travellers’ information.

In his speech, the Minister of Public Works and Land Management, representing the Prime Minister at the ceremony, said: “The government, through the Ministry of the Interior responsible for Public Security, through my voice, welcomes the strengthening of the operational and infrastructural capacities of the Special Police Units by the IOM, which, in March 2023, trained the staff and equipped Bangui M’Poko Airport with a Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS).”

The construction of this Special Police Station in the town of Beloko and its equipment were made possible thanks to funding from the US Department of State for Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS). It further consolidates IOM’s commitment to border governance in CAR, notably after equipping Bangui International Airport with the same system in February 2023.

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For more information, please contact:

Aissata KA, Tel.: +236 74 40 66 81, aka2@iom.int; et

Haby KOUMBA SY SAVANE, Tel.: +236 74 37 66 30, hsysavane@iom.int