Ecuador - Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility and IOM, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, has organized a three-day seminar on Identity Management, E-passports and Information Systems on Human Mobility.

The seminar which ends today (17/02) is being facilitated by three international experts from the Office of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico and IOM.

The experts shared information about the importance of robust identity management, the challenges and advantages of shifting from traditional to electronic passports, and the scope for implementing effective information systems for human mobility management, as required by Ecuador’s new law on human mobility.

During the first day of the seminar, Nelson Goncalves, an IOM expert on biometric registration systems and identity management, highlighted the need for creating synergy between identity systems, including those serving citizens and foreigners.

The seminar emphasized the importance of applying integrated and inter-operable biometric registration systems for governments. “Such systems protect both citizens and foreign residents,” explained Goncalves.

Participants also learnt about regional experiences with electronic passports and migration information systems, including the implementation of the Canadian e-passport and Mexico’s trials to create comprehensive information systems and coordination mechanisms for policies on human mobility.

IOM Ecuador Chief of Mission Damien Thuriaux said: “As an intergovernmental organization, IOM is committed to providing technically and commercially neutral assistance to its Member States by promoting effective mechanisms for evaluating and supporting security improvement for identity documents. We are supporting the creation of migration governance mechanisms that allow the mainstreaming of migration in political planning based on migration information systems.”

IOM – in cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Implementation and Capacity Building Working Group (ICBWG) – globally promotes the proper application of security standards in the handling and issuance of travel documents, with the aim of facilitating human mobility and migrant protection.

For further information, please contact Carolina Celi at IOM Ecuador, Tel. +593 23 934400, Email: cceli@iom.int