The Â鶹APP Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) organized, within the framework of the Â鶹APP Countering Terrorist Travel (CT Travel) Programme, the second meeting of the Eastern Africa Regional Working Group on Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data. Held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 24 to 26 March 2026, the meeting brought together Member States from across the region to strengthen cooperation and advance the use of passenger data systems to counter terrorism and serious crime.
Representatives from eight Eastern African countries participated, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Discussions focused on exchanging experiences, addressing operational challenges, and identifying practical solutions to support the implementation of national API and PNR systems.
Participants also examined emerging risks related to terrorist travel and explored how strengthened passenger data analysis, inter-agency coordination, and information-sharing can help detect and prevent terrorist movements, while ensuring compliance with international aviation, data protection, and counter-terrorism frameworks and human rights obligations.
On the margins of the meeting, participants visited the Rwanda¡¯ Passenger Information Unit, gaining practical insights into how passenger data systems can support national security efforts.
About the Working groups
The Eastern Africa Regional Working Group was established in April 2025 at a launch event in Nairobi, Kenya, to support Member States in strengthening regional cooperation on passenger data implementation. Rwanda currently serves as Chair, supported by Member States leading key thematic pillars, including legal frameworks, operational capacity, industry engagement, and technological interoperability.
The Working Group is part of a growing global network of regional mechanisms established under the CT Travel Programme, led by UNOCT and implemented in partnership with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), the Â鶹APP Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Â鶹APP Office of Information and Communication Technology (UNOICT), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and IOM. Similar working groups have been established in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa, West and Central Africa, Southern Africa, and Southeast Asia to strengthen national capacities and foster regional cooperation to detect terrorists and individuals involved in serious crime.
