Using Biometrics to Keep Citizens Safe

Chances are, when a citizen of an OSCE country goes to apply for a passport, the information he or she provides – personal details, a current photograph, a fingerprint –will be embedded in an electronic chip in the travel document. A growing number of airports, be it in London, Athens or Ashgabat, have set up e-gates that scan passengers’ electronic passports and check the biometric information they contain against a live scan of the travellers’ faces. It’s a quick and convenient way to pass through border control, which at the same time allows states to verify identities with optimal accuracy.

Since December 2017, when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted Resolution 2396, the use of biometrics has become more than just desirable, however: it is now mandatory.  UNSCR 2396 directs all States to collect biometric data, as a means to detect and counter the movement of foreign terrorist fighters, especially those returning from conflict zones.

The OSCE, the world’s largest regional security organization, has teamed up with the Biometrics Institute, an independent international forum founded in 2001 to promote the responsible and ethical use of biometrics, to assist participating States in implementing UNSCR 2396.  In April 2019 the two organizations collaborated to hold the ID@Borders and Future of Travel Conference, which the Biometrics Institute organizes every year, jointly at the OSCE Hofburg Conference Centre in Vienna.

Biometrics – what they are and why they are used

Biometric identifiers are distinctive and measurable biological characteristics that are used to label and describe individuals.

“The importance of biometric data lies in the fact that many of these characteristics are unique. In other words, facial measurements, the patterns that your veins make and even the way you walk, are all attributes that vary from one individual to the other,” says Simon Deignan, of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department.

This uniqueness is the reason why biometrics are increasingly used for border management and counter-terrorism purposes, as they can help law enforcement authorities determine someone’s identity with a high level of certainty. If the traveller is using someone else’s passport, the border guards will know.

States are also using biometrics techniques within forensic science. Forensic biometrics is useful not only because it provides identification, but also because it can prove or disprove someone’s involvement in a crime. It can link a person to an activity, an event, a location or another person before, during or after an incident.

“Biometrics have been around longer than you’d think. In ancient Babylon, fingerprints were pressed into clay tablets to mark business transactions. Nowadays a person’s fingerprint, iris, hand, face, voice or even the way they walk can be used to prove their identity and control their access to a range of services,” says Isabelle Moeller, Chief Executive of the Biometrics Institute.

At the same time, the rapid evolution of facial recognition technology means that the use of biometrics can also be abused. “Facial recognition is a multi-billion pound global market and thanks to the social sharing revolution, digital pictures of people’s faces are in very easy supply. That mean facial biometric solutions have to work harder than ever to verify their subject, using 3D mapping and liveness detection techniques,” Moeller explains.

“In the near future, sensors which simultaneously capture multiple biometric images within a narrow spectrum will greatly improve the industry’s ability to detect false biometrics. In automated border control systems that use face recognition, infrared sensors determine if a mask is being used,” she adds.

Detecting foreign terrorist fighters

Pressure on terrorist groups in conflict zones has led to an increase in the number of foreign terrorist fighters returning to their countries of origin. They pose a serious threat to States, given the risk that they may carry out attacks at home or engage in recruitment efforts. Many are known or suspected terrorists and will be on international watch lists or terrorist databases. Others, however, will mask their identities or pretend to be someone else.

UNSCR 2396 requires UN Member States to develop and implement systems to collect biometric data in compliance with domestic law and international human rights law. It encourages them to share this data responsibly among themselves as appropriate, with INTERPOL and with other relevant international bodies.

The Resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which makes compliance with these obligations mandatory for all Member States. However, not all States have the resources or the capacity necessary to do so. It therefore calls upon regional organizations such as the OSCE to provide technical assistance, capacity building and support to those countries that request it.

What the OSCE does

The OSCE has been helping participating States since 2010 to develop biometric passports and to join the ICAO Public Key Directory - a repository that allows countries to verify the biometric and biographic data in the chip of the passport. Through regional workshops, country visits to decision-makers, and ongoing technical support, the OSCE assists countries each step of the way as they become members of the ICAO PKD.

Since the adoption of Resolution 2396, there have been requests for further assistance to States, as they seek to implement their commitments related to biometrics. The ID@Borders and Future of Travel Conference organized with the Biometrics Institute in Vienna on 11 and 12 April 2019 is a response to these requests.

The joint conference aims to support OSCE participating States in implementing Resolution 2396 by providing information on the benefits of biometric systems, offering guidance on how to responsibly use and share biometric data for countering terrorism and facilitating the exchange of good practices among public and private sector actors. It is preceded by a half-day training course providing a high-level overview of fundamental concepts and implementation requirements of biometrics at the border.

“The OSCE partnered with the Biometrics Institute for this conference because the Institute has been working with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the Office of Counter-Terrorism (OCT) since 2017, sharing its expertise on biometrics in counter-terrorism,” Deignan says.

The Biometrics Institute also helped to compile the UN’s Compendium of Recommended Practices for the Responsible Use & Sharing of Biometrics in Counter Terrorism, which was launched in 2018. It is continuing to work with the UN to brief Member States on the practical use of the compendium,” he adds.

Ethical guidelines

While biometric data can be an essential tool for combating terrorism, it is essential to make sure that the collection, use and exchange of this information is done in a responsible and ethical way.

The Biometrics Institute has recently launched seven principles to guide the biometrics community in using the technology ethically and responsibly. Terry Aulich, head of the Biometrics Institute’s Privacy Expert Group and former Australian senator and state government minister, says: “We recognized very early that the law cannot hope to protect human rights and privacy across more than 190 countries. We therefore set out to create a concise, straightforward statement to guide our members in how they should behave. Even if some laws do not prevent commercial or governmental bad behaviour, our Ethical Principles ask our members to operate at a higher level of accountability.”

The OSCE and the Biometrics Institute hope to be able to provide further capacity-building support to requesting States in the coming months and years, as they seek to implement UNSCR 2396.  The use of biometrics is one more tool we can use to prevent the movement of foreign terrorist fighters and ensure the security and safety of our citizens.

Learn more about the ID@Borders and Future of Travel Conference here.

See more information on the Biometrics Institute and the resources it offers to organizations using or thinking of using biometrics here.