OSCE and International Civil Aviation Organization assess travel document security in Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, 9 July 2014 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the OSCE Secretariat (Trans-national Threats Department) and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) facilitated at the request of the Kyrgyz Government the deployment of an assessment mission focussing on security of travel documents and of their issuance process.

The assessment mission is taking place from 7 to 11 July 2014 and aims at providing a technical assessment and concrete recommendations concerning the enhancement of the travel documents’ quality and security in line with ICAO international standards.

“The assessment mission is very timely, as it coincides within ongoing preparations for next year’s parliamentary elections, including our plan to introduce biometric passports in 2015,” stated Joomart Otorbayev, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic. “I very much look forward to receiving concrete recommendations and am confident that they will help us to carry out an effective reform of our legal and practical framework for population registration and travel document security”.

“The OSCE Centre in Bishkek and ODIHR have been involved in the reform of the population registration system and the improvement of the accuracy of voter lists since many years” said Fabio Piana, Acting Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “We are glad to witness political will towards holding free, fair and transparent elections and we stand ready to assist Kyrgyzstan in this important endeavour”.

The assessment mission comprises Erik Slavenas and Ross Greenwood on the ICAO side, and Paul Picard and Zoran Dokovic from the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the ODIHR, respectively.

ICAO is a UN specialized agency whose mandate includes the development of international standards and specifications relevant to civil aviation, including the security and management of travel documents. Since 2009, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek together with ODIHR has supported the State Registry Service (SRS) in establishing a Unified Population Register (UPR).