Digital Identity Newsletter, August 2019 (#06)
ID PASS: how biometrics allow the live generation of NGO field reports
Biometrics-enabled smartcards can be used by humanitarian organizations not just for providing services and decentralized identification to end-users in aid scenarios or as part of projects, but as a way to monitor the organizations’ staff and contractors, and generate live field data which can help in the securing of further funding according to Greg Martel, COO of Newlogic.
A pilot is already underway in Nepal where the ID PASS and handheld devices are in use. Cards have been issued to both construction workers and government engineers following a training project on modernizing houses. Previous training sessions without the system had revealed issues with recording attendance.
Martel also mentioned about an upcoming project in Uganda as a case study for Newlogic’s ID PASS open-source smartcard system with the non-profit Divine Waters Uganda.
Read more at Biometric Update.
A Digital Nation for the Stateless Rohingya?
A team of Rohingya Muslims is using blockchain technology to forge digital identities for the persecuted minority’s diaspora. In the last few years a growing number of projects have turned to blockchain to tackle humanitarian challenges. From global corporations such as Microsoft and Accenture to start-ups including BanQu and Tykn, multiple groups are entering the digital identity space. The blockchain buzz has raised valid concerns in some quarters, particularly surrounding the security implications for an already vulnerable group. Emre Eren Korkmaz, a lecturer in migration and development at the University of Oxford, warned of the risk of abuse in a blog last year. “An authoritarian state could use such data collected from refugees against refugees,” he cautioned.
It’s one of the reasons why the Rohingya Project, launched in late 2017, is treading carefully. A planned pilot for 1,000 Rohingya to test the first wave of digital identity cards has been pushed back to the end of this year. “Digital identity and blockchain is evolving so fast. We need to comply with all the security and privacy requirements. We want to make sure the data is safe so there is no security breach,” said Noor, a Rohingya community leader.
Read more at The Diplomat.
Digital ID in Africa this week: Biometric ID for Guinea, continued ID controversy for Côte d’Ivoire
West Africa comes to the foreground this week in African digital ID news as Guinea announces plans for a comprehensive civil registry and accompanying biometric ID card scheme with help from the World Bank. Plus, with help from the UAE, a biometrics scheme for identifying welfare recipients. Across the border in Côte d’Ivoire, identity once again becomes a political hot potato as the country’s ID cards require updating in the run up to presidential elections. Opposition parties in Chad are calling on their electoral commission to bring in biometric verification in future elections, while in Ghana the ongoing biometric electoral exercise is weeding out those attempting to register multiple times and developments in Nigeria will see students hoping to take the JAMB university entrance exams next year needing a National Identity Number to do so.
Read more at Biometric Update.
UNHCR Seeks Help as Biometrics-driven ID Efforts Ramp Up
The United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) is looking for some expert assistance in its efforts to establish digital ID programs for displaced people. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has posted a notice that it is looking to hire one or more ‘Digital Identity Consultants’ to support its Data and Identity Management Service.
In keeping with the UNHCR’s demonstrated interest in using biometric technology to aid and manage refugee populations, the organization is calling for a consultant who can “contribute technical expertise to the development of multiyear projects on digital identity, including biometrics,” in support of the development of its Population Registration and Identity Management Ecosystem, or “PRIMES”. The UNHCR has proven to be an enthusiastic proponent of biometric identification in recent years, deploying such technologies in major refugee camps and highlighting its utility in providing displaced individuals with a reliable form of official documentation.
“Asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees, UNHCR’s persons of concern (POCs) are at heightened risk of not having a legally recognized ID credential and, if they are unable to prove their identity, face additional obstacles to social and financial inclusion alongside other protection risks,” explained the UNHCR in its posting of the position. “Allowing States to use PRIMES tools, developing interoperability between PRIMES and State identity systems and facilitating the inclusion of POCs in States’ foundational identity systems are some of the approaches that can achieve this goal.”
As for the specifics of who the UNHCR is looking for, the United Nations agency lists among its minimum qualifications at least 13 years of relevant work experience or 11 years of experience with a post-graduate degree, including experience in developing Digital Identity projects with a focus on authentication, with experience in humanitarian or development work being preferred.
The agency’s efforts to find such an expert illustrate its growing interest in biometrics-driven digital identity technologies, which appear poised to play an increasingly important role in the United Nations’ efforts to aid refugees going forward.
This article was originally published on Find Biometrics.
UNICEF urges methodical and wholistic approach in Africa’s race for digital identity
United Nations agencies have taken an increasing role in ID4Africa and other digital identity-related initiatives over the past few years. UNICEF Associate Director and Global Chief of Child Protection Cornelius Williams joined ID4Africa’s Board of Directors last September, and representatives of United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) joined in April.
Asked about the state of African identity ecosystems by Biometric Update at ID4Africa 2019 in Johannesburg, UNICEF’s Williams first emphasizes that digital identity must be preceded by legal identity, and linked to civil registries. In that regard, some countries are quite advanced, including Egypt, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Madagascar. Many African nations, however, are yet to build an effective legal framework, according to Williams.
Read more at Biometric Update.
