CZECHS TEACH IRAQIS IMMIGRATION CONTROL

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000306 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KDEM IZ EZ SUBJECT: CZECHS TEACH IRAQIS IMMIGRATION CONTROL REF: A. PRAGUE 0097 ¶B. PRAGUE 0192 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) Summary. The Czechs are helping the Iraqi government learn how to manage Iraq's borders. In February, the Czechs brought ten senior Iraqi government officials to Prague to learn best practices in asylum and migration policy. The visit -- sponsored by a partnership between the Czech government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) -- was the first of three visits for Iraqi officials planned in 2006. End summary. -------------- Ambassador Cabaniss Welcomed Iraqi Officials -------------- ¶2. (U) Ambassador Cabaniss attended a dinner on February 27 to meet ten Iraqi government officials in Prague to take part in a training program on border control, and other asylum and migration issues. The dinner was hosted by Czech Deputy FM Tomas Pojar and Iraqi Ambassador Al Dabbass. The Iraqi guests included Abas Hassan, DG of Ministry Affairs, General Secretariat of Ministers Council; Adnan Al-Asadi, Dep Min of SIPDIS Administration Affairs, Ministry of Interior; Nouri Mousa, DG of Customs, Customs Department of the Ministry of Finance; and other senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Displacement and Migration, and Labor and Social Affairs. Czech guests included Tomas Haisman, Director of Asylum and Migration Policy Department, Ministry of Interior; and Lucie Sladkova, head of the Czech office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). -------------- -------------- The Focus of the Program is Iraqi Border Security -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) In an interview with the Czech press, Dep FM Pojar explained the program is part of the Czech's ongoing efforts to help the new Iraqi government. The program includes three visits to Prague in 2006. ¶4. (SBU) The Czechs chose border security as the focus of the program because the IOM assessed the Iraqi migration management system, and concluded the Iraqi government needed training to improve its ability to: (1) ensure the security of borders with Iran and Syria (including preventing illegal migration and creating secure travel documents),(2) regulate the stay of foreigners, and (3) facilitate the return of Iraqis. As part of the first phase of the program the Iraqi delegation visited: -- the Prague Ruzyne Airport, to learn about airport security, -- the Czech Alien and Border Police Headquarters and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, to learn about migration, visas, and border control, and -- a Czech asylum facility, to learn about refugee facilities administration. ¶5. (SBU) The project budget for the three visits in 2006 is US$135,000 (The GOCR provides two-thirds of the funding, and the IOM provides one-third and administrative support). For other examples of Czech capacity building training and humanitarian assistance to Iraq, see reftels. CABANISS