Mongolia Launches Their Passenger Information Unit With The Support Of Un Countering Terrorist Travel Programme

By the Public Information and Communications Office for the CT Travel Programme, UNOCT

The Mongolian People’s Republic launched its new Passenger Information Unit (PIU) to detect and prevent the movement of terrorists and serious criminals, becoming the fourth Member State to achieve this milestone with the support of the United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel Programme (‘CT Travel’). The PIU adopted the United Nations software solution “goTravel” that is housed within the General Authority for Border Protection authority.

An in-person inauguration ceremony organized by the National Counter Terrorism Council of Mongolia was held in Ulaanbaatar to mark the occasion and celebrate the milestone achievement, while also highlighting the benefits of Mongolia’s ‘whole-of-Government’ approach.

In her opening remarks, H.E. Ms. Solongoo Bayarsaikhan, Deputy Minister of Justice and Home Affairs of Mongolia said “The Mongolian Government is working closely with the international community to maintain border security, improving screening mechanisms, preventing of terrorist travel and other serious crimes while promoting human rights and freedom, which are integral part of our national security. While doing so, the Government of Mongolia is developing policies to work closely with international organizations within the framework of international agreements and conventions signed between UN Member States, and Mongolian Legislations.”

Expressing gratitude to UNOCT and all implementing partners of the CT Travel programme, Major General Peljee Odonbaatar, Director General of the National Counter-Terrorism Council (NCTC) of Mongolia stressed “Once the Mongolia PIU starts to operate, we will have a chance to prevent and combat terrorists and transnational criminal groups and their accomplices from entering or transiting through Mongolia with the help of data exchange with international organizations and partner countries.”

In her opening remarks, Ms. Christine Bradley, Chief of the Countering Terrorist Travel Section at UNOCT highlighted that “Mongolia is the first country within the broader Central and East Asia region to establish and inaugurate their PIU with the assistance of the CT Travel Programme. This is a truly significant milestone for Mongolia, as well as the UN and the Countering Terrorist Travel Programme’’.

Integrating the expertise and mandates of the three national entities, the Mongolia’s new PIU includes enhanced operational and technical capabilities in the areas of passenger data collection, analysis and response to detect and prevent the movement of terrorists and criminals , in compliance with the requirements of United Nations Security Council resolutions 2178 (2014), 2396 (2017), and 2482 (2019), international standards and recommended practices, relevant privacy laws, and human rights principles.

The launch represents a milestone for the CT Travel Programme, with establishment of the Mongolia’s PIU representing the fourth such unit to become fully operational with the support of the Programme, and the third (following on Norway and Botswana) to go live in using the “goTravel” solution. goTravel , which is a key component of the CT Travel Programme’s comprehensive support package to Member States, is a United Nations-owned software solution that supports the end-to-end process to enable the collection of passenger data from the transport industry, to conduct targeted analysis of data received, as well as share the findings of data assessment with relevant competent authorities.

Led by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), CT Travel follows an ‘’All-of-UN’’ approach providing comprehensive, yet tailored assistance to beneficiary Member States with the support of its six implementing partners, the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations Office of Information and Communication Technology (UNOICT), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The Programme is co-funded by strategic investments and in-kind support from the European Union, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the State of Qatar, Germany, Australia, the United States of America, the Republic of India, Japan, Hungary, and the Republic of Korea.