How Biometrics Can Help Refugees Access Essential Services
As the world continues to experience unprecedented levels of displacement, refugees often encounter many practical challenges when trying to access essential services. Biometric technology, which uses unique physical and behavioral characteristics to identify individuals, could help alleviate some of these challenges.
Background
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has reached nearly 80 million. This includes refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs). One of the biggest challenges for these populations is accessing essential services like food, healthcare, and banking.
Many refugees do not have official identification documents or have had them confiscated or lost during their displacement. This makes it difficult for them to access services that require ID, such as opening a bank account or obtaining medication. Biometric technology could provide a solution to this problem by enabling individuals to prove their identity without traditional documents.
The Benefits of Biometrics for Refugees
Biometric technology uses a person’s unique physiological or behavioral traits such as fingerprints, iris patterns, facial recognition or voice recognition, to confirm identity. It is a highly accurate and reliable method of identification as compared to traditional ID documents, which can be lost, stolen, or forged.
By using biometric technology, refugees would no longer need to carry any physical documents to prove their identity. This would save time, reduce bureaucracy, and eliminate the need for formal identification documents which can be lost or difficult to obtain. In addition, biometric identification could provide an opportunity to reduce crime rates by allowing refugees to more easily access services.
What Services Could Biometrics Help Register For?
Identification is a critical requirement for accessing financial services like banking, loans, and remittances. For example, the World Bank estimates that 1.7 billion adults globally do not have a bank account. This financial inclusion gap, particularly among refugees, can be reduced through biometric identification. By showing their biometric identity, refugees can register and access financial services more easily. This can improve not only their lives but also that of their families and communities.
In addition to financial services, biometrics can also streamline the process of registering for healthcare services. Often, refugees find it difficult to prove their identity and access healthcare services. However, biometric identification can simplify this process and ensure that refugees receive the medical care that they need.
Successful Case Studies
Several organizations have already implemented biometric identification successfully for refugees. For example, the UNHCR has used biometric registration in Kenya’s Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps since 2011 to register more than 400,000 refugees. Similarly, UNHCR and the Bangladesh government used biometric registration to register more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees in 2017.
In addition to the UNHCR, the World Bank has also supported biometric identification programs in several countries. In India, for instance, the government has implemented biometric identification for its financial inclusion program, the ‘Jan-Dhan Yojana’. This program has enrolled more than 400 million Indians and is the world’s largest financial inclusion program.
Conclusion
Biometric identification has the potential to help refugees access essential services with greater ease and security. Several initiatives have already demonstrated the effectiveness of biometric identification for refugees. The technology provides a reliable and easily accessible way for refugees to prove their identity, register for financial or healthcare services, receive aid, and improve their quality of life. By adopting biometric identification, organizations, governments, and the international community can better meet the needs of refugees.
