Brasilia – This week (5-7/06), IOM, the UN Migration Agency, participated in two International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) events in Brazil, contributing to the implementation of the ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (ICAO TRIP) Strategy.

One of the events was the ICAO TRIP Regional Seminar, hosted by the Government of Brazil, which focused on familiarizing participants, mainly from the Americas, with ICAO standards and recommended practices on identity management, travel documents and border management.

Expert speakers and national representatives addressed a broad range of traveller identification management matters, highlighting particular challenges of developing states that often require international assistance.

Topics discussed included machine-readable travel document (MRTD) standards, specifications and best practices; secure travel document issuance; robust evidence of identity processes; and information-sharing technologies.

IOM’s work on traveller identification management relies on a close partnership with ICAO and its TRIP Strategy. The vision of the ICAO TRIP Strategy is to ensure that Member States have the capacity to uniquely identify individuals. The Strategy provides a holistic framework that integrates identity management, travel documents and border management.

IOM’s engagement in TRIP Strategy implementation has been gaining momentum since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IOM and ICAO in November 2016. Aligned with the ICAO TRIP Implementation Roadmap, the IOM Action Plan for ICAO TRIP Implementation Assistance aims at providing support to IOM Member States in TRIP Strategy implementation as well as directing the assistance where it is needed the most.

Representing IOM Director General William Lacy Swing at the inauguration of the seminar, the IOM Regional Director for South America Diego Beltrand said, “The TRIP Strategy contributes to sustainable development, benefitting concerned migrants as well as Member States.” He added: “We stand ready to work with ICAO, donors and Member States on intensifying and expanding our TRIP implementation assistance to States especially also in the Americas.”

During the Seminar, IOM experts spoke on IOM’s intensified efforts in providing Immigration and Border Management (IBM) technical assistance to States for the implementation of the ICAO TRIP Strategy. Particular focus was on the capacity-building work at the African Capacity Building Centre in Moshi, Tanzania, and the use of Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS), IOM’s border management information system. The successful implementation of the MIDAS in Paraguay was highlighted at the event.

The other event where IOM participated was the Implementation and Capacity Building Working Group (ICBWG). This meeting explored future directions for IOM's IBM involvement in ICBWG's work on assisting States in strengthening border and travel document integrity world-wide. IOM leads an ICBWG sub-group on developing guidance materials for the responsible use of biometrics in travel document issuance.

IOM’s engagement in the ICAO ICBWG helps to attract top technical expertise to IOM identity management projects and provide feedback from the field to ICBWG to inform its future normative work – including the development of guidance materials on traveller identification management. 

ICAO, a United Nations specialized agency, develops international standards and specifications related to civil aviation, travel documents and border control formalities. A number of States face challenges in implementing such global standards because of the lack of technical expertise or funds or, often, both. IOM has been consolidating efforts in using its global project implementation capacity and donor liaison to expand its IBM activities to strengthen the implementation of the ICAO TRIP Strategy.
For more information, please contact Erik Slavenas, at IOM HQ, Tel: +41 79 766 8701, Email: eslavenas@iom.int