Japan backs Haiti’s national ID expansion with new $3 million grant
Key Points(5)
- The Organization of American States and Japan have signed a new cooperation agreement to expand access to national identification services in Haiti and improve access to essential social services.
- The agreement, signed Tuesday at the headquarters of Haiti’s National Office of Identification (ONI) in Port-au-Prince, is backed by a $3 million grant from the Government of Japan and will be implemented by the OAS in support of Haiti’s economic and social development.
- OAS Secretary General Albert R.
- Ramdin and Japan’s Ambassador to Haiti Nishiuchi Kazuhiko signed the agreement during a ceremony held as part of a high-level Inter-American delegation’s visit to Haiti.
- Haiti’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Patrick Pélissier and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Raina Forbin also attended.
The Organization of American States and Japan have signed a new cooperation agreement to expand access to national identification services in Haiti and improve access to essential social services.
The agreement, signed Tuesday at the headquarters of Haiti’s National Office of Identification (ONI) in Port-au-Prince, is backed by a $3 million grant from the Government of Japan and will be implemented by the OAS in support of Haiti’s economic and social development.
OAS Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin and Japan’s Ambassador to Haiti Nishiuchi Kazuhiko signed the agreement during a ceremony held as part of a high-level Inter-American delegation’s visit to Haiti. Haiti’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Patrick Pélissier and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Raina Forbin also attended.
“Japan and the OAS share a simple conviction: Haiti’s long-term stability must be built from the inside by Haitians, one citizen, one identity, one vote at a time,” Ramdin said.
He said Japan’s support for providing Haitians with national identification cards demonstrates its commitment to a Haitian-led approach to stability and development.
Under the new agreement, Japanese funding will support the rehabilitation of facilities, installation of equipment, capacity building and other operational needs related to Haiti’s identification system.
The project aims to help update Haiti’s voter roll by ensuring uninterrupted citizen registration and the production and delivery of National Identification Cards. It will also seek to reduce the backlog of people awaiting identification, expand mobile registration services in remote and vulnerable communities, and improve coordination between the ONI and Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council.
The funding will include the procurement of 350,000 blank biometric identification cards, continued deployment of ONI mobile registration units and public awareness campaigns on legal identity and the electoral process.
It will also support improvements to joint ONI and electoral facilities, transportation assistance and other operational needs. The initiative is expected to strengthen institutional capacity and public-service delivery while improving electricity and internet connectivity at decentralized offices.
Nishiuchi said the project would help Haitian citizens, particularly those in remote and vulnerable communities, obtain the identification documents needed to access public services and exercise their rights.
“Through this project, Japan is pleased to support Haiti’s efforts to strengthen legal identity, improve access to essential public services and enhance the operational capacity of national institutions,” he said.
The latest initiative builds on an earlier phase launched in 2023 with an $8 million grant from Japan.
According to the OAS, that funding helped register more than 1.07 million Haitian citizens in the national identification system, bringing the ONI database to approximately 6.55 million registered individuals.
During the same period, more than 1.22 million National Identification Cards were delivered, increasing the number of Haitians with a valid national ID to approximately 5.8 million.
The OAS said the results have strengthened Haiti’s civil identification system, expanded access to essential public services and laid the groundwork for greater citizen participation in national life.
Japan was the first Asian country to become a Permanent Observer to the OAS in 1973, beginning a partnership focused on peace, democracy and development.
