MINSK, 30 March 2009 - An international conference on "Biometric Applications in Electronic Machine-Readable Travel Documents and Issuance Systems", organized by the Office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Belarus, in co-operation with the OSCE, will start in Minsk tomorrow. 

The two-day conference will promote the implementation of an electronic Machine-Readable Travel Document (MRTD) system in Belarus. Participants will also discuss the complexities of securing the handling and issuance process, including a comprehensive civil registration system providing end-to-end oversight.

The conference is co-funded by the OSCE's Action against Terrorism Unit and is held as part of an IOM project funded by the European Commission to help Belarus implement an e-MRTD issuance system in line with international standards and modernize the identity management process.

The "Biometric Applications in Electronic Machine-Readable Travel Documents and Issuance Systems" conference will take place on 31 March and 1 April in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Minsk. For more information, contact Dimitar Jalnev, Tel. +43 664 916 2901.