UNDP assists Azerbaijan to create the civil register

Baku, 3 July 2006 - Analysis show that public administration based on information and communication technologies (ICT) increases the quality of services to the public and makes the work of government more transparent. In Azerbaijan, the Government gives special attention to application of ICT in the work of all state authorities. At the same time, rapid development of the country creates a necessity for implementation of new projects on the state level by increasing the role of ICT in public administration. One of such projects aimed at establishing the country's civil register was launched today in Baku bringing the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan into partnership with the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Fikrat Mammadov and UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Marco Borsotti signed the project document on the "Establishment and Development of the State Register of Population (SRP) in the Republic of Azerbaijan" in a special ceremony in the Ministry of Justice.

"For us as UNDP, contributing to the process of introduction in Azerbaijan of the use of information technologies, has been indeed an important additional task", said the UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Marco Borsotti. "UNDP has experience in this country as well as elsewhere in the world in realization of similar programmes".

The establishment of the Register was envisaged by the respective decree of the President of Azerbaijan of 21 February 2004 to facilitate collection of identified information on country's population. The task of creating computerized state register system of population is also reflected in the "2005-2008 State Programme for development of information and communication technologies in the Republic of Azerbaijan".

"We are pleased to work with UNDP as we have had a very positive experience of working together in the past", said the Minister of Justice Mr. Fikrat Mammadov at the project's signing ceremony. "In addition, UNDP has been a pioneer among international organizations in Azerbaijan to help the Government to introduce ICT in its work".

The main goal of the project is to establish, in compliance with international experience and using modern information and communication technologies, a single full database on the population of Azerbaijan, issue a personal and unique identification number to every individual, and by using this number arrange formation of countrywide information resource combining all state information systems in one network. "The establishment of a unified registry of the population will contribute to the transparency that the state has in relation to its citizens", said Minister Mammadov.

The individualized information necessary for quick and precise identification of a person will include important indicators such as a special identification number, first, middle and last names, sex, birth place and date, marital status and family members, as well as address of registered residence. Citizens are asked to submit certificates on their marital status, residence, etc when they address various state authorities. The Register, the access to which will be available to all state agencies, will help reduce document circulation, simplify and accelerate the process of issuing relevant certificates and other documents to people, as a result improve quality of services provided to population.

The total budget of the one-year project starting from July 2006 is $1,440,000 jointly funded by the Government and UNDP. The project will also develop and improve software programmes for transferring the existing archives of hardcopies of citizenship situation acts to electronic format, equip authorities of state registration of citizenship situation acts with needed computer equipment to enable transfer of daily information to the register, and arrange special training courses for the staff.

The head of the OSCE Office Mr. Maurisio Pavesi stressed the need to protect citizens from inappropriate utilization of the information on citizens and pledged OSCE support in this field. "Civil register is not only some computers where you put some information on population. It is important to guarantee the confidentiality of this information.", he said.

Establishment of the civil register will also help avoid collection and maintenance of the same information in various state bodies, reduce the costs for census of population and conduct of elections, assist in creating a full computerized list of voters, increase effectiveness of tax collection process, etc. According to the UNDP Representative Marco Borsotti, "once the various phases of this projects are completed and the entire system of registry is available, citizens will notice the benefit for them in terms of having easier access to certification which is fundamental for the normal conduction of life whenever you are asking for documents or you are exercising one of your civil rights like the right to vote".