The Call for Global Measures on Breeder Document Security
The control and efficient detection of fake and counterfeit travel documents is essential to enhance border security and public safety.
Effective border security is critical in combating transnational crime, notably terrorism, smuggling, human trafficking and illegal migration. Fraudulent documents are often used by criminals in an attempt to pass border controls carried out by law enforcement agents.
Today’s travel document environment
Major steps have been taken in the past decade to improve the security of travel and identity documents. Today, passports, visas and national identity cards are largely protected by a range of security features which enable easy visual detection and/or instant machine-readable detection. For frontline law enforcement officers, the absence of certain security features, the tampering of photos and data and other inconsistencies signal the need for further investigation and forensic analysis.
This enhanced security is the result of a concerted effort between national, regional and international law enforcement organizations, border security, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and security technology developers.
Governments are also becoming more aware of the urgency of organizing national identity infrastructure to face the growing threat of terrorism and other cross-border crime. In the increasingly complex global context, many now acknowledge that transnational crime demands a cross-border approach with joint efforts and shared information, i.e. system interoperability.
A majority of countries have taken timely action and invested significant resources in developing high-security identity documents, adding identity verification technologies to travel documents and issuing electronic identities.
The security solutions for e-passports, visas, entry-exit data and e-gates at borders encompass a full array of competences, ranging from material security, data collection & management and digital security to integrated and interoperable border control systems. The selection of the available proven and new solutions can be based on ICAO recommendations and INTERPOL guidelines.
Breeder document security
While improvements in securing the principal travel documents are yielding promising progress, there is a rising trend to exploiting loopholes in identity registry, such as using fake documents and claimed identities to obtain genuine travel documents.
Success in combating travel document counterfeiting and identity fraud requires high-quality identity management, documentation and issuance and this involves civil and administrative systems and processes.
Each year, the governments of over 190 countries issue an extensive range of identity documents apart from national ID cards and passports. These come in different formats and serve different purposes: birth certificate, driving licence, election card, national health card, residence permit, marriage certificate, death certificate, etc.
Today, the most pressing challenge concerns breeder documents such as the birth certificate, which many see as the Achilles heel of identity management. These documents are the weakest link in the identity management chain due to the lack of minimum international standards for their issuance. The verification of breeder documents is a complex task because of the sheer quantity in circulation worldwide, and because they contain information data that vary from country to country. Many incorporate hardly any security features for verification purposes.
The international travel document community is calling for a global focus on improving the foundations on which the world’s travel documents rely. It urges the need for breeder document specifications on a global basis, and setting the security standards for these documents.
Looking ahead
Besides the use of sophisticated technologies for the protection of travel identity documents, it is necessary to step up measures to meet the complex issue of identity fraud. The integrity of breeder documents should be enhanced by incorporating effective technologies and features and anti-tampering measures in order to provide a secure basis for the issuance of travel documents.
Further international collaboration to strengthen identity management would contribute significantly to the prevention and reduction of trans-border crime. All those involved in the identity management chain, such as national identity policy and strategy planners, issuing authorities, ID governance, identity document manufacturers, technology suppliers and system integrators have the shared responsibility to build a strong and reliable identity infrastructure for the ultimate goal of public safety.
