A cross border conference on Passport Issuance and Border
Management organized by IOM Haiti brought together officials from
Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, The
Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, and Mexico, as well as
members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM ) Secretariat, to
discuss practical experiences and to identify national strengths
and weaknesses.

Experts from IOM's Technical Cooperation Unit, the Canadian
Border Service Agency (CBSA), Passport Canada, the Organization of
American States Inter-American Committee against Terrorism
(OAS-CICTE), CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and Haiti's
Civil Office, the National Archives and the Office for National
Identification provided further insights on passport issuance and
handling issues including data collection, identity management,
security and fraud prevention as well as common policy and
procedures that culminated into a set of recommendations for future
actions and possible areas of collaboration.

"An efficient data collection system, through the application of
human and electronic intelligence in particular areas, would allow
effective regional communication and information sharing in
developing proper migration policy and management, including
addressing human trafficking and migrant smuggling," said Vincent
Houver, IOM Chief of Mission in Haiti.  "It would also provide
the means to counter threats to state security in regard to
terrorism for both Haiti and other countries in the region," he
added.

The two–day conference, opened by Haiti's newly appointed
Prime Minister, Mr. Jean-Max Bellerive, also marked the handing
over to Haiti's Minister of Interior and Territorial
Collectivities, who holds responsibility over the Directorate of
Immigration and Emigration, of a report on an in-country review and
research of Haiti's Border Management Information System (BMIS)
developed by a team of experts from IOM and the Government of
Canada, and which was carried out on behalf of the Ministry of
Interior.

The report's findings and recommendations focus on the urgent
need to provide the necessary operational system environment that
will allow for the reestablishment of a computerized BMIS at
Haiti's main international airport and at other border points as
soon as possible.  This would ensure Haiti is able to meet
international best practice standards in both national and regional
security issues.  The report also stresses the need for
international cooperation with other countries in the region and
major states concerned by such issues.

Currently, due to its weak and very limited border inspection
capabilities, Haiti is particularly exposed to fraudulent practices
and transnational crime and the lack of a proper BMIS system makes
detection of such elements almost impossible.

IOM's Capacity Building for Migration Management (CBMM)
programme focuses on capacity building and training, regional
collaboration and information sharing, and the development of a
counter-trafficking legal framework. 

The cross-border consultations on migration management and
border security aim to consolidate cross-border mechanisms on
various issues of common interest in the Caribbean region.

The two-day conference, ending today in Port-au Prince, was held
under the framework of IOM's CBMM Phase II programme in Haiti,
underway since 2007 and funded by the Government of Canada within
its Stabilization and Reconstruction Taskforce (START) )
programme.

For more information, please contact:

Michela Macchiavello

IOM Haiti

Tel: +509-2245-5153; 2244-1218 Ext. 134

E-mail: "mailto:mmacchiavello@iom.int">mmacchiavello@iom.int