UNOCT Border Security and Management Programme “Training of Trainers” Course Concludes in Rabat
The Border Security and Management Programme (BSM) of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) delivered a two-week Training of Trainers (ToT) course for 22 experts in West Africa on Good Practices in Border Security and Management (BSM). It took place at the UNOCT Programme Office and Training Centre in Rabat from 27 October to 7 November 2025.
This ToT course aimed to strengthen institutional capacity in West Africa by providing officers with the technical and pedagogical skills needed to deliver BSM modules within their respective national training institutions contributing to sustainable capacity development and regional cooperation. In line with the UNOCT BSM Strategy and the BSM Compendium of Good Practices, the workshop emphasized the need for human rights-based approaches to border management.
Twenty-two senior border officials from Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Togo participated in scenario-based group exercises and received training in adult learning and evaluation techniques. This preparation enables them to teach best practices in areas such as inter-agency coordination, risk analysis, document verification, vehicle searches, and the responsible use of technology in border security operations.
A hands-on session at the Institut Royal de Police in Kénitra provided participants with practical experience in detecting fraudulent travel documents and conducting vehicle inspections, which are widely recognized as some of the most impactful parts of the course. The training was complemented by a dedicated session on Human Rights and Gender Sensitivity led by the UNOCT Human Rights and Gender Section.
This training was delivered by international experts from International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT). It was organized in collaboration with the Government of Morocco through the Direction Générale de la S?reté Nationale (DGSN) and the Institut Royal de Police, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Italy as part of ongoing efforts to improve border security and counter-terrorism capacities in the Sahel region.
The ToT course contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and relevant Security Council resolutions 2178 (2014), 2396 (2017), and 2482 (2019), which call on Member States to strengthen border management and information-sharing to prevent the cross-border movement of terrorists while upholding international human rights and refugee law.