US Launches Program to Detect Terrorists Traveling Between Countries

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States has launched a global program to catch terrorists who are transiting between countries by coordinating exchanges of data such as biometric markers, the Department of State said.

"The Terrorist Travel Initiative will bring together national and local governments, law enforcement and border screening practitioners, and international organizations to share expertise on how to develop and implement effective counterterrorism watchlisting and screening tools," the Department of State announced in a press release on Thursday.

The initiative was revealed on the sidelines of a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, the release added.

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According to the document, one of the most effective ways to counter terrorist travel is by accessing databases such as Advanced Passenger Information (API), Passenger Name Record (PNR), as well as biometric markers.

The program will be run by the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), a multilateral organization founded in 2011 by the European Union and 29 nations, including the United States and Russia.

The initiative will convene a series of four regional workshops in 2018 and 2019 to develop recommendations, to be endorsed by a GCTF ministerial in 2019, according to the release.