THE Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) representative for Jamaica, Therese Turner-Jones, says identity rights are central to development and important for improving people’s lives throughout the region.
Turner-Jones, who is also general manager for IDB’s Caribbean Country Department, says a strengthened identity management system could help to address crime and violence in Jamaica, particularly as it relates to lotto scamming in Montego Bay.
“The establishment of a unique national identification system is crucial to link birth and death records, reduces the opportunity for fraud, and strengthens immigration and border control management, public safety and national security,” Turner-Jones said during her address at the inuagural staging of the Caribbean Civil Registration and identity Management Conference held in Montego Bay, St James, last week.
The conference, which was led by Jamaica’s Registrar General’s Department in collaboration with IDB, also had the support of senior leaders of Jamaica’s executive and judicial branches, as well as officials from various other Caribbean regional jurisdictions and organisations, including the Pan-American Health Organisation and 21 civil registrars from across the region.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Chief Justice Zaila McCalla also noted the importance of identity and managing crime. She said an effective identity system is an important tool, especially in these days of technology.
