Emirates Identity Authority gets UN honour

Abu Dhabi (WAM): UN report which recently came out, describes the Emirates ID’s biometric enrolment programme as one of the world’s best biometric programmes. The United Nations has singled out the Emirates Identity Authority in its E-Government Survey 2014 for its world-class biometric enrolment of the entire population. The UN report which recently came out, includes a special box item in which it describes the Emirates ID’s biometric enrolment programme as “one of the world’s best biometric programmes.” In page 86 of the latest report from the UN titled “E-Government Survey 2014: E-Government for the Future We Want” and published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the world body summarised the achievements of Emirates ID as follows: “The deployment of the Emirates ID Authority’s Biometric Enrolment by the Emirates ID Authority as part of the National ID Registration Programme is recognised as one of the world’s best. Emirates ID Authority collects finger prints of all the citizens and legal residents above the age of 15 in the country. The current database boasts of over a 105 million prints of rolled fingerprints, plan 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....” Dr. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Director General of the Emirates Identity Authority, said it was a matter of great joy and pride that the United Nations recognised the Emirates ID’s achievements. “It is a tribute to the noble vision of the U.A.E.’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,” he explained. – Khaleej Times – Read more: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/nationgeneral/2014/July/nationgeneral_July23.xml§ion=nationgeneral