AKIPRESS.COM - A two-day conference on population registration, data protection and the right to privacy, organized by the OSCE Center in Bishkek, with support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the NGO Legal Clinic “Adilet”, opens today in Bishkek.

Some 100 government officials, parliamentarians, representatives of NGOs, media and international organizations will discuss how to strengthen the national legal and administrative framework on data protection. The Kyrgyz Government is currently implementing reforms to population registration and has recently launched a countrywide collection of biometric data.

Five international experts from Austria, Latvia, Georgia and Ireland will share best practices in this area, including on issues related to the establishment of independent data protection authorities.

In October 2014, the State Registration Service of Kyrgyzstan began to register the biometric data of citizens over 16 years old. The aim is to increase the accuracy of voter lists ahead of the parliamentary elections, which are tentatively scheduled for autumn 2015. The database will be also used for the issuing of new electronic passports, beginning in 2017.

Since 2009, ODIHR and the OSCE Center in Bishkek have been actively supporting the reform of the population registration system in Kyrgyzstan to ensure the protection of the right to the freedom of movement, the accuracy of voter lists and to enhance the security of travel documents.