Emirates Identity Authority among world’s best in biometric population enrollment: U.N Survey

The Emirates Identity Authority was recognized as one of the world’s best biometric programs, according to the recent United Nation’s e-Government Survey 2014.

In the report, the UN calls the Emirates’ National ID Registration Programme “one of the world’s best biometric programmes”.

In the report, titled ‘e-Government Survey 2014: e-Government for the Future We Want’, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs commended the biometrics achievements of Emirates ID on page 86.

According to the report, the “Emirates ID Authority collects fingerprints of all the citizens and legal residents above the age of 15 in the country,” a practice that is mandatory for all country residents and is part of the mandatory health certification for all expatriates.

“The current database boasts of over a 105 million prints of rolled fingerprints, palm and hand side prints, in addition to over 15 million facial images. The best two fingerprints are stored in a secure, encrypted container in the Smart Card that is issued as the National ID Card. The Smart Card is provided with a Match-On-Card Applet which allows for a biometric verification and authentication enabling assertion of an individual’s identity on demand. The security on the ID Card is ensured by the encrypted containers which is enabled only through the National Validation Gateway. All the biometrics, data transmission and protocols are as per ANSI and/or ISO Standards.”

“It was a great joy and pride that the UN recognised the Emirates ID’s achievements,” said Ali Mohammad Al Khoury, director general of the Emirates Identity Authority. “It is a tribute to the noble vision of the UAE’s leadership. I hope this will inspire other countries in the region and elsewhere to embark on innovative identity management initiatives whose advantages straddle diverse spheres, including financial and capital markets, national security and good governance.”

Previously reported in BiometricUpdate.com, the Emirates ID established a full e-linkage with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice and also launched an initiative to replace the Labour Ministry’s existing e-signature cards with the new national ID.

Article Topics

biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  Emirates Identity Authority  |  government database