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Responses to Information Requests (RIRs) cite publicly accessible information available at the time of publication and within time constraints. A list of references and additional sources consulted are included in each RIR. Sources cited are considered the most current information available as of the date of the RIR.            

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26 October 2010

HTI103594.FE

Haiti: The meaning of the letters HAM in passport numbers issued in 2003

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

Several Haitian government sources consulted by the Research Directorate stated that the letters HAM in passport numbers issued in 2003 mean that these passports were issued in Haiti (Haiti 8 Oct. 2010; ibid., 4 Oct. 2010a; ibid. 4 Oct. 2010b).

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate on 8 October 2010, a representative of the National Identification Office (Office national d'identification, ONI), the organization that issues national identity cards (cartes d'identification nationale, CIN) in Haiti (Haiti n.d.), stated that the letters "HA" in the code "HAM" stand for Haiti, while the "M" signifies that the passport holder is a male (Haiti 8 Oct. 2010).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Haiti. 8 October 2010. Office national d'identification (ONI). Telephone interview with a representative.

_____. 4 October 2010a. Embassy of Haiti in Washington, DC. Telephone interview with the Consular Affairs Officer.

_____. 4 October 2010b. Embassy of Haiti in Berlin. Telephone interview with the Consular Affairs Officer.

____. N.d. Office national d'identification (ONI). "Mission." <http:www.oni.gouv.ht/index.html> [Accessed: 12 oct. 2010]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to reach officials of the Haitian embassies in Paris and Brussels were unsuccessful.

Internet sites, including: AlterPresse, Forced Migration Online (FMO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Migrants outre-mer (MOM), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF), Radio France internationale (RFI), Réseau des médias francophones (MEDIAF), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United States - Bureau of Consular Affairs.

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