Strategic Objective — Security and Facilitation — Developments pertaining to the ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP)

Developments pertaining to the ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP)

The key point of the ICAO TRIP Strategy is the recognized need for a holistic and integrated approach to traveller identification management. This approach links the five elements of traveller identification and border controls into a coherent framework. These elements are: evidence of identification; document issuance and control; Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs); inspection systems and tools; and interoperable applications. ICAO recognizes the benefits of traveller identification management to aviation security and facilitation.

The foundation of holistic traveller identification management was the focus of the Eleventh Symposium and Exhibition on TRIP/MRTDs, held in Montréal in October. It was attended by over 500 participants representing 86 States and 18 international organizations. Discussions took place on how to contribute to Member States’ capacity to identify individuals through the provision of tools and knowledge for the establishment and confirmation of travellers’ identities. The special focus of the symposium was the ICAO policy framework on holistic traveller identification management (the ICAO TRIP Strategy), its interdependent elements, and how they can be implemented by individual States and collectively.

Several TRIP/MRTD Regional Seminars were held in 2015. These included seminars in Niamey, Niger, in January, jointly organized the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED); in Brazzaville, Congo, in May, jointly organized with the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS); and in Nairobi, Kenya, in November. These events promoted best practices for issuing ICAO-compliant MRTDs and managing secure passport issuance and border control systems, while emphasizing the importance of the implementation of the five elements of the ICAO TRIP Strategy and participation in the ICAO Public Key Directory. They also underscored the importance of complying with Standard 3.10.1 of Annex 9 by the 24 November 2015 deadline.

An Experts’ meeting on identity management, organized in cooperation with the Civil Service for Identity Data of the Netherlands, was held in The Hague on 1-2 July. During this meeting, a group of international experts from governments, international organizations and academia explored future identity infrastructure developments as far as 2030.

ICAO TRIP continued to promote news and features on travel document and identification management issues as reported in the ICAO MRTD Report – Volume 10, issues 1 to 3. The objective of the MRTD Report is to provide a comprehensive account of new developments, trends, innovations and applications in the field of MRTDs to ICAO Member States and the international aeronautical and security communities.

Following the endorsement of the report of the 22nd meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on Machine Readable Travel Documents (TAG/MRTD/22, May 2014), the Seventh Edition of Doc 9303 — Machine Readable Travel Documents was published in English and may be downloaded from the ICAO website.

Preparation of Doc 9303 in all other official ICAO languages is in progress. Additionally, ICAO continued to provide States with basic guidance on deficiencies and non-compliance issues related to machine readable passports through the Implementation and Capacity-Building Working Group (ICBWG) of the TAG/MRTD. A new ICAO TRIP communication platform was developed, based on the TAG/MRTD/22 outcome relating to ICAO TRIP Strategy implementation. It is expected to be operational in the near future.

In October, the Air Transport Committee (ATC) considered a new approach for the TAG/MRTD. It approved the name change from TAG/MRTD to Technical Advisory Group on the ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (TAG/TRIP), with revised Terms of Reference to be finalized in the near future.