On December 2, the Government of Mongolia and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) signed a Memorandum of Agreement governing the deployment and licensing of the UN ‘goTravel’ software to Mongolia’s Passenger Information Unit (PIU).

The implementation of GoTravel is part of the comprehensive assistance delivered under the Countering Terrorist Travel (‘CT Travel’) Programme. A flagship UNOCT Programme, CT Travel assists Member States in fulfilling their obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions 2178, 2396 and 2482 to establish and enhance their national capabilities to detect and interdict the travel of terrorist and other criminals using travel data, in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law.

Under-Secretary-General of UNOCT Vladimir Voronkov and Minister of Justice and Home Affairs of Mongolia Kh, Nyambaatar, welcomed the signing of the MoA as a critical milestone in the ongoing partnership between Mongolia and UNOCT.

“The United Nations congratulates Mongolia on its accelerated implementation of the CT Travel Programme, thanks to the leadership of Minister Nyambaatar Khishgee and all-of-Government efforts under the coordination of the National Counter-Terrorism Council of Mongolia. We look forward to working closely with the Government of Mongolia to support other Member States in the region and in other parts of the world by sharing Mongolia’s newly gained knowledge and good practices,” stated Under-Secretary-General Voronkov. He welcomed Mongolia’s invitation to Ulaanbaatar on the occasion of the launch of the Passenger Information Unit.

Thanking UNOCT for its support, Minister of Justice and Home Affairs of Mongolia Kh. Nyambaatar highlighted that the necessary legal documents required for the full implementation of the programme are ready to be considered by the Government of Mongolia. He also indicated that Mongolia’s Passenger Data Center will be ready to go live in the near future, noting that the center’s staff has been appointed and its structure agreed.

goTravel is a United Nations-owned software solution derived from the Travel Information Portal (TRIP), developed and donated to the United Nations by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. goTravel supports the end-to-end process for law enforcement to collect passenger data from air carriers and conduct targeted analysis as well as share the findings of their data assessment with competent national authorities. Member States can adopt the goTravel solution to enable the automated analysis and watchlist matching of large data volumes for all inbound and outbound passenger traffic, allowing authorities to focus limited resources on known and suspected terrorists and other criminals while facilitating legitimate travel.

Currently supporting 58 beneficiary Member States across the globe, UNOCT’s CT Travel programme assists beneficiary Member States in enhancing their national capabilities to detect and intercept terrorists and other criminals by using Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data as well as cross-checking against international and national databases of known and suspected terrorists and criminals, in accordance with Security Council resolutions, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and recommended practices, relevant privacy laws, and human rights principles. The Programme also promotes regional cooperation through enhanced information exchange and the sharing of lessons learned and good practices.