New OSCE/ODIHR publication on good practices in identity management aims to support states in improving civil registration and identification systems

A new publication highlighting good practices in identity management, both in providing evidence of identity in the issuance of travel documents and identity cards and in ensuring access to economic, civil and political rights, was launched at an event in Vienna on 29 September 2017.

The Compendium of Good Practices in Identity Management in the OSCE Region was produced jointly by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which contributed based on its work on identity management and freedom of movement, and the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, which contributed based on its work on travel document security.

“Secure and efficient systems for civil registration and identification as well as for residency registration are important components of the identity management infrastructure and therefore indirectly but decisively determine to what extent people enjoy certain basic rights,” said Christine Hirst, Deputy Head of the ODIHR Democratization Department.

“Breaking new ground in its holistic presentation of identity management, this compendium bridges the different dimensions of security to provide insights and guidance in a complex area,” said Rasa Ostrauskaite, the OSCE Secretariat’s Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats. “We hope this resource will be used by states to compare and contrast their identity management systems with others, to identify possible security gaps or weak links in their own systems, and to remedy these gaps using some of the good practices highlighted.”

The publication is the result of consultations initiated in 2013, and the subsequent process has included a series of expert meetings and information collection through a detailed questionnaire distributed to all OSCE participating States in August 2016. The compendium builds upon existing ODIHR expertise in civil registration, identification, and population registration and reform, as well as in providing technical support to participating States in this area.