Responding to APEC Leaders and Ministers
In October 2002 in Los Cabos*, APEC Leaders, in their ‘Secure Trade in the APEC Region’ (STAR Initiative), identified three measures to ‘protect people in transit’. One of the three measures called for improved security of travel documentation, specifically, the adoption of
“…standards for application of biometrics in entry and (where applicable) exit procedures and travel documents such as those being developed by the ICAO and the International Standards Organization.”[1]
The BMG developed best practice travel document security standards incorporating ICAO and ISO standards in early 2004 and much progress on implementing the agreed standards has been achieved by a number of economies, including in respect of biometric travel documents and related border systems.
In late 2004, the BMG agreed on a timeframe for the adoption of Machine Readable Travel Documents, with biometrics by end 2008, on a best endeavours basis. To assist economies to meet this timeframe, the BMG conducted a survey in October 2005 on the current state of economies’ progress on adoption of biometric passports or their plans for the future. The collated results of the survey were tabled in a report by Australia at SOM I 2006.
In Busan in 2005, APEC Ministers recognised the work already started by the BMG and instructed Officials to “…advance an APEC initiative on capacity building for machine readable travel documents and biometrics technology to enhance regional security. They also called for further cooperation to ensure that all APEC member economies issue machine-readable travel documents, if possible, with biometric information by the end of 2008.”**
The 2005 survey results informed the design of the BMG’s current TILF-funded project on biometric passports. That project has recently been completed with the conduct of two very successful events this year: a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City in May and a workshop in Hong Kong (China) in July, to raise economies’ awareness and understanding of the technical and non-technical issues relating to biometric travel documents.
In 2007, the BMG delivered a TILF-funded project “Capacity Building – Biometric Technology in Machine Readable Travel Documents” which a reference document, available in hard-copy and on the internet, which provides comprehensive information on the technical and non-technical issues, technological developments, best practice, available models and options for cost recovery, financing, procurement and other implementation issues.
At its meeting in Jakarta in January 2008, ABAC recommended that the APEC Business Travel Card “utilize new technology such as a contact-less chip to enhance the benefits of the scheme to all economies, as far as it is cost-effective and rational”.
At SOMI in 2008, the Chair of the BMG reminded members that introducing a chip containing biometric data to the ABTC has the potential to enhance the card’s border security benefits and that it is incumbent on the BMG to consider international developments in the use of biometrics in border crossing.
Osaka Action Agenda
Business Mobility is one of the action areas listed in the Osaka Action Agenda. As part of the OAA, APEC Leaders have called on all economies ‘…to enhance the mobility of business people engaged in the conduct of trade and investment in the region and to enhance the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to facilitate the movement of people across borders, taking into account the Leaders’ Statement on Counter Terrorism.’
The project’s activities complement the work and objectives of the Counter Terrorism Task Force (CTTF).
