![]() However, as communications scholar Mirca Madianou argues, iris recognition has an error rate of two to three per cent, suggesting that roughly 11,800 claimants out of the alleged false claimants were wrongly denied aid. The UNHCR was so confident in the use of biometrics that it altogether decided not to allow disputes from refugees.įrom March to October 2002, 396,000 false claimants were turned away from receiving aid. If the algorithm matched a new entry to a pre-existing iris record, the claimant was refused aid. The technology was used to identify individuals who sought funds more than once. In 2002, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) introduced iris-recognition technology during the repatriation of more than 1.5 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan. Placing people at increased risk We are familiar with biometric technology through mobile features like Apple's Touch ID or Samsung's fingerprint scanner, or by engaging with facial recognition systems while passing through international borders.įor many people located in conflict zones or rely on humanitarian aid in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, biometrics are presented as a secure measure for accessing resources and services to fulfill their most basic needs. These stops sometimes resulted in hostage situations and executions carried out by the Taliban. In 20, the Taliban stopped passenger buses across the country to conduct biometric checks of all passengers to determine whether there were government officials on the bus. The guide recognized that people may hesitate to provide their personal information and therefore, officials should frame biometric enrolment as a matter of protecting their people.' Inspired by the US biometrics system, the Afghan government began work to establish a national ID card, collecting biometric data from university students, soldiers, and passport and driver license applications.Īlthough it remains uncertain at this time whether the Taliban has captured HIIDE and if it can access the aforementioned biometric information of individuals, the risk to those whose data is stored on the system is high. There, the US Army Commander's Guide to Biometrics in Afghanistan advised officials to be creative and persistent in their efforts to enroll as many Afghans as possible. In a May 2021 report, anthropologist Nina Toft Djanegara illustrates how the collection and use of biometrics by the US military in Iraq set the precedent for similar efforts in Afghanistan. Often described as the most secure method of verifying an individual's identity, biometric data are being used by governments and organizations to verify and grant citizens and clients access to personal information, finances, and accounts.Īccording to a 2007 presentation by the US Army's Biometrics Task Force, HIIDE collected and matched fingerprints, iris images, facial photos, and biographical contextual data of persons of interest against an internal database. These include facial features, voice patterns, fingerprints or iris features. Building biometric databases Biometric data, or simply biometrics, are unique physical or behavioural characteristics that can be used to identify a person. This development is the latest in many incidents that exemplify why governments and international organizations cannot yet securely collect and use biometric data in conflict zones and in their crisis responses. Military equipment and devices including the collected data are speculated to have been captured by the Taliban, who have taken over Afghanistan. Today, HIIDE provides access to a database of biometric and biographic data, including of those who aided coalition forces. ![]() ![]() Over time, for the sake of efficiency, the system came to include the data of Afghans assisting the US during the war. The device, known as Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE), was initially developed by the US government as a means to locate insurgents and other wanted individuals. Toronto: In 2007, the United States military began using a small, handheld device to collect and match the iris, fingerprint and facial scans of over 1.5 million Afghans against a database of biometric data. ![]()
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