BASSETERRE, St Kitts — The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS), through its Secretariat for Political Affairs, has completed a project to assist the Civil Registry in St Kitts and Nevis through the implementation of the Caribbean Civil Registry and Identity System (CCRIS).
Caribbean experts from the OAS Universal Civil Identity Program developed the CCRIS to facilitate birth registration and to provide uniform vital statistics in the Eastern Caribbean. The project was implemented by the OAS Department for Effective Public Management, with funding from the governments of Canada, Luxembourg and South Korea.
The OAS purchased equipment, developed software, and trained a seven-member team to scan and input information from 426 registry books containing 8,520 pages of birth certificates. The project included funding for the contracting of the team for a six month period, which concluded in September 2013. The team scanned 100 percent of birth records and continues to index and verify information from these certificates. As part of the project, the OAS also purchased equipment for the Civil Registry Office, including a Bookdrive Scanner, which will facilitate the continued maintenance of the database.
The OAS has implemented the CCRIS application in six Eastern Caribbean member states of the Organization, including Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.