Benefits of biometric technology in countering terrorism, and responsibly using and sharing data, explored at OSCE-Biometrics Institute Conference

VIENNA, 11 April 2019 – The benefits and potential of biometric technology in countering terrorism, and how to responsibly use and share collected biometric data, are being explored at a two-day conference which launched today in Vienna. More than 200 decision-makers, policy-makers, experts in biometrics and private sector representatives from the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation are taking part.

The ID@Borders and Future of Travel Conference is organized jointly by the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Biometrics Institute.

The conference is designed to support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2396 (2017), a milestone decision in the international efforts to detect and prevent the movement of Foreign Terrorist Fighters. The Resolution decided that States shall develop and implement systems to collect biometric data (such as fingerprints, photographs and facial recognition) in order to responsibly and properly identify terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters, and develop watch lists or databases of known and suspected terrorists.

The Resolution also calls upon international and regional organizations like the OSCE to provide technical assistance, resources, and capacity-building to States in order to implement such systems.

“The goal of the conference is to help the OSCE participating States to implement Resolution 2396: Preventing the movement of terrorists, building capacities where needed, and encouraging good practices in information sharing,” said OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger. “The Biometrics Institute and the OSCE are a good match. The Institute brings its subject-matter expertise and network of biometrics professionals, while the OSCE is an inter-governmental organization with 57 States. We use politically-binding decisions to implement UN Resolutions, and have the local expertise to build capacity on the ground.”

Lukáš Parízek, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic and Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship, stressed: “Part of our role, as the OSCE Chairmanship, is to promote dialogue and co-operation where it is most needed. In order for border security to be most effective and efficient, we need real information sharing. That’s where this conference can make a difference. It is bringing together countries, which are already using advanced biometric technology, with those who are in the development phase.”

Isabelle Moeller, Chief Executive of the Biometrics Institute, said: “The Institute’s mission is to promote the responsible and ethical use of biometrics in an international and independent forum. We are a multi-stakeholder community from around the world, not only of government agencies but also suppliers, and other user sectors such as aviation and travel as well as academics, privacy advocates and regulators. Over the past 17 years we have closely engaged with many countries on border management discussions and good practices. Finding like-minded partners who can help support our outreach was why we partnered with the OSCE for this conference.”

Ahead of the conference, experts from the OSCE and the Biometrics Institute conducted a half-day specialized training course for representatives and experts of States not yet using biometric technology.