Civil Society Coalition Outlines Key Reforms Of NIDS Bill To Parliament
On Wednesday, April 5, 2021, The NIDS Focus Coalition — a coalition of civil society organizations — will present before Jamaica’s Parliament on the National Identification and Registration Bill. The Bill creates a legal framework for Jamaica’s National Identification System (NIDS) — a biometric digital ID system designed to support Jamaica’s transition to a “digital society.” After careful study, the Coalition has identified key issues with the proposed approach that must be addressed before rollout of NIDS continues. On Wednesday, we will outline these concerns and proposed solutions.
The NIDS Focus Coalition is comprised of 13 organizations with a shared intention to ensure that Jamaica’s National Identification System delivers a promise of social inclusion and improved access to legal identification in a manner that fully respects the human rights of all Jamaicans; preserves the security and privacy of their information, and safeguards against the dangers inherent in mass collection of personal data. The Coalition is co-convened by Jamaicans for Justice and The SlashRoots Foundation. Participating organizations represent diverse sectors of society including human rights, technology, governance, youth, gender, law, and disabilities.
In 2017 the Jamaican government passed a version of the National Identification and Registration Bill which was then struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 2019. In December 2020, the government tabled a fresh Bill and established a Parliamentary Committee to review it and receive submissions from the public. In February 2021, The Coalition made a submission to the Parliament that outlined a series of concerns and proposed approaches to address them.
The Coalition is not opposed to the concept of a National ID in Jamaica. A system established in a people-centred and rights-respecting manner would benefit the Jamaican public. However, when these systems are not designed inclusively or without effective safeguards, flaws in their implementation can have far-reaching implications, including human rights violations. “We evaluated what circumstances the Bill could make possible now and, in the future, and have identified concerns that, if addressed, can make NIDS a considerably more balanced, people-centred, and secure system,” said Matthew McNaughton, Principal of the SlashRoots Foundation.
“We must remember that NIDS is being designed today, but it will potentially last for generations and take on new technological innovations. We must, therefore, take great care today in how we design the legal architecture,” said Rodje Malcolm, Executive Director of Jamaicans for Justice
How to engage
The Parliamentary proceedings will be streamed live on the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica’s YouTube and Facebook. A recording will be made available via the aforementioned channels.
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For further information contact:
Rodje Malcolm — (876) 329–0320 / Malcolm@jamaicansforjustice.org
Matthew McNaughton (330) 828–6717 / Matthew@slahroots.org