Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) in cooperation with the National Organisation for Civil Registration of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), organised the First Meeting of the Heads and Seniors of National Organisations for Civil Registration (NOCR) of OIC Member States on 15-17 April 2013 in Tehran, Iran. The meeting was attended by delegations of OIC Member Countries namely, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, Niger, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Qatar, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Eng. Huseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation; and Mr Efe Kerem Aydin, Programme Coordinator, represented the Centre thereat.
The meeting focused on the latest developments on civil registration related issues and enabled participants to discuss and share their experiences in safety and security of National ID and Smart Card systems. The participants of the meeting, shared their experiences and views on the main topics, gave examples from their countries and provided feedback during the sessions. The main topics that were tackled during the conference are:
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Current Status of Civil registration in Member states and Country Reports,
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Technical Know-How and Best Practices,
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Production and Release of Statistics,
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Population Data Centres,
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National ID and Smart Cards,
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Safety and Security Issues,
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Educational and Research Cooperation,
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Design of the Civil Registration Management Website.
The meeting started with the opening speech of H.E. Dr Nazemi Ardakani, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Interior and Head of NOCR of Iran. In his augural address, he welcomed the delegates of the civil registration institutions of the OIC Member States. He further stated that synergy of capacities and experiences in Islamic countries will provide a suitable ground for promoting civil registration coverage and e-government applications in OIC Member Countries.
The statement of Prof Savas Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, was conveyed by Eng. Eryetli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department. In his statement, Prof Alpay expressed his thanks to the delegates of the civil registration institutions of the OIC Member States for accepting this invitation and designating time to attend, and NOCR of the Ministry of Interior of Iran to host this important meeting. In his speech, Prof Alpay informed the participants on SESRIC and OIC-VET activities in the field of statistics, agriculture, environment, health, economy, information and communication, poverty alleviation and several initiatives in the field of tobacco, skill development and e-government and highlighted the importance of gathering authorities responsible for civil registration for the first time in OIC history. Stated that they have identified many potential cooperation areas among the civil registration institutions of OIC, Prof Alpay shared his belief that SESRIC, with its vast experience in initiating cooperation and collaboration, will support cooperation among civil registration institutions especially through its capacity building programmes and will also coordinate civil registration institutions in regard with the implementation of the outcomes of this meeting.
In his statement, H. E. Dr Ghashghavi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, welcomed all the delegates, and called upon the Member States to develop their consular cooperation and remove communication barriers between people. In this regard, he proposed the initiatives to be taken by the OIC Member Countries to cooperate on civil registration including; a) set a unification procedure in issuance of ID documents; b) exchange of demographic information; c) acceptance of inter-regional documents authentication; d) acceptance of marriage registration. He also underlined the importance of visa exemption for the people of the OIC Member Countries.
In his speech, H. E. Mr Abu Torabi, Deputy Speaker of Iran Parliament, mentioned that moving towards efficient civil registration system is a key to produce smart ID cards and use e-government applications. He further emphasized that cooperation and collaboration among OIC Member Countries is crucial in the context of civil registration.
As a part of the programme, site visits to NOCR of Iran and some private companies were organised in order to see the practices in the field.
At the final session, delegates of the OIC Member Countries highlighted the importance of increasing civil registration coverage, on-time registration of vital events and transition towards an efficient, centralised and computerised civil registration system and effective legislation.
Documents
Statements
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Prof. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC (English)
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H.E. Dr. Nazemi Ardakani, Deputy Minister of the Interior and Head of NOCR of Iran (English)
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H.E. Dr. Ghashghavi, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran (English)
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H.E. Mr. Aboutorabi, Vice-Speaker of the Islamic Legislative Assembly (English)
Presentations
Session I: Current Status and Country Reports
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SESRIC's presentation on E-Gov. initiative (English)
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Country Reports / Presentations by:
Session II: Exchange of Experience / Technical Know-How and Best Practices – Production and Release of Statistics
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Presentations by Delegations:
Session III: National ID and Smart Cards and Population Data Centres
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Presentations by Delegations:
Session IV: Safety and Security Issues
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Sharing Best Practices and Challenges by Delegations:
Session V: Discussion on Educational and Research Cooperation
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Presentation by Delegations:
Session VI: Civil Registration Management Web design, Next Steps and Action Points
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Presentation by Delegations:
Photos
