On 10th - 11th July 2018, the Khartoum Process (EU-Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative) convened a Thematic Meeting on Law Enforcement and Capacity Building, which was hosted and chaired by Egypt and co-chaired by Italy. During the Meeting, the delegates shared their knowledge, experience and good practices pertaining to law enforcement responses to human trafficking, international police cooperation and investigation, as well as capacity building. To address these important issues, the first day of the meeting was dedicated to targeted presentations of good practices in the area of capacity building, international cooperation and law enforcement.
During the second day, an Interactive Study Visit to the Police Academy took place. A detailed overview of the activities of the Academy was presented, also with the deployment of audio-visual materials regarding the Police Academy and the activities of the Police Research Centre. Furthermore, a comprehensive presentation of the International Training Center at the Egyptian Police Academy (ITEPA) was offered. The Center, created as a result of a joint cooperation between the Italian Central Directorate for Immigration and Border Police and the Egyptian Police Academy, on behalf of their respective Ministries of Interior, shared its expertise in delivering international training for senior border guards and immigration and law enforcement officers of the African countries involved in migration flows. The key aims of the ITEPA Project were outlined as follows: 1) strengthen the skills of African countries’ authorities in charge of border control and migration management, tackling smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings; 2) contribute to building a common and integrated pattern of knowledge and sensibility among border control, migration and law enforcement Agencies of the African Countries involved; 3) support in a practical manner the development of regional operational cooperation on border and migration management. The key areas covered throughout the training program concerned border checks (including fraud document detection) and surveillance; return and readmission procedures; fight against human trafficking and migrant smuggling in compliance with the international law; and international protection procedures, among others.
The programme of the visit included a tour of the training facilities of the Academy, whereby the participants had a unique chance to witness the process of training, teaching, and knowledge sharing. Live demonstrations of rescue activities, counter-terrorist operations and training activities, etc. were provided. Participants agreed that the interactive format of the visit offers definite benefits in terms of knowledge and experience sharing, and additional study visits are welcome in the context of the Khartoum Process in the future.
