Paraguay and the migration agency of the United Nations have sealed a fresh deal for the implementation of a project that seeks to improve the production, management and use of information to improve migration management through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
By their Spanish acronyms, the General Directorate of Migration (DGM), the Ministry of Interior (MDI) of Paraguay, and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) signed the new agreement.
With the agreement, there will be continuity in joint projects that have been carried out since 2015, when Paraguay put in place the IOM Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS). This migration management biometric system is currently used in nine border control posts in the country, reaching 80 per cent of the country’s migratory flow.
This new project will allow the installation of MIDAS in three additional border control posts, located in the cities of Carmelo Peralta, Itá Enramada and Alberdi.
The implementation of MIDAS in Paraguay has contributed to strengthening the capacity of the DGM in migration management, and increase the capacity for migratory registration through the generation of reports on movements, as well as the incorporation of biometric information, online supervision, access to national and InterPol alert lists, and the obtention of the travel history of those entering and leaving the country.
IOM Paraguay Head of Office, Richard Velázquez, said “IOM recognises and values the commitment of the Republic of Paraguay in the process of updating migration management processes in the country, in accordance with the highest standards of security and management of migratory information at the national level.”
In the last years, and in addition to the signing of this agreement, the Government of Paraguay has invested around $2.1 million in MIDAS System, which has been managed by IOM Paraguay, and complemented with funding from the IOM Development Fund (IDF).
The new project also aims to modernize the migrant assistance area at DGM, in order to improve the capacity and quality of the response to the documentation processing needs.
In May 2018, IOM and the DGM of Paraguay signed a cooperation agreement for the expansion of the Personal Information and Registration System (PIRS) and MIDAS in the country, which allows them to have more detailed and complete information on passengers that cross the borders.
The inclusion of peripheral computer equipment, such as passport readers, fingerprint readers and webcams, has allowed gathering of useful data to manage adequate migration policies, based on complete information.
