How To Make Our World More Unified And One

Sharing Of Data

As we approach Christmas in just a matter of days now, one theme will be pervading all of us:  World Unity.  I am all for world peace, and for everybody to be happy during these joyous times.  Hopefully, 2012 will be a better year for all of us.  In fact I know it will.  Even though this is the theme right now, we have seen one part of the world can greatly impact another part of the world.  Probably the best (or not so good, depending on you look at it) is the financial mess the world is in now. 

Every day, we see our own financial markets literally zig zag in huge gyrations as hope from the European Union erodes and comes back as they make feeble, and half hearted attempts to solve their debt crisis.  And as I mentioned yesterday, on another example, Biometrics will impact our every day lives.  One point of impact which will be felt is when countries share their Biometric information and data in the name of protecting their borders. 

The United Kingdom and Ireland are prime examples of this, and here are the details:  “The UK and Ireland have signed an important agreement reinforcing their commitment to preserving the Common Travel Area (CTA) while further cracking down on illegal immigration and spurious asylum claims . . . the countries signed a statement working towards joint standards for entry and ultimately enhanced electronic border systems to identify those with no right to enter the CTA before they arrive at the border . . . an accompanying memorandum will promote the exchange of information, such as fingerprint biometrics and biographical details, particularly from 'high risk' countries, as part of the visa issuing process . . . The data exchange will help prevent abuses of the CTA arrangement, while protecting its long-established benefits of trade and tourism. The move could create considerable savings for both countries on removing foreign nationals with no right to stay.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9446/). 

My Take

This joint cooperation between the United Kingdom and Ireland has resulted in some pretty impressive statistics, including the following:

*Some 1,500+ false claims of asylum have been discovered in Ireland alone;

*200+ Nigerians who applied for an Irish immigration visa were subsequently denied entry due to their “sketchy” and “suspicious” immigration history when going to the United Kingdom;

*Other specific cases, such as: “ . . . an immigration fraudster was caught with a bundle of fake identities after his 'zig zag' route across four countries flagged him to UK Border Agency officers in Belfast. Another Nigerian applicant was refused entry into Ireland after checks on documents showed he had previously been removed from the UK in 2008 . . .”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9446/).

If you think about and look at the numbers, these are truly impressive in joint efforts to protect what is known as the “Common Travel Area”, which is cherished territory between the UK and Ireland, especially for travelers and visitors.  But, there are two things which come across my mind as I write this Posting. 

First, I hope and pray with all of my heart that the Biometric information and data being held in the databases is as secure as possible, and that the privacy rights of each individual is guaranteed.  But we are talking about the UK, so I don’t think this aspect should be much a problem (compared to the US, the UK is way far ahead in terms of security). 

Second, I hope that the immigration officials in both countries just use the Biometric information and data in hand to make absolute decisions.  In other words, suppose an asylum seeker wishes to seek asylum in Ireland, and their Biometric information/data reveal a somewhat sketchy past.  Will a rush to judgement be made just on this information presented, and deny the person entry and a place to stay? I would sincerely hope not, as in my view, everybody should have a fair shot at asylum in a democratic country. 

I would think that these immigration officials would like into the entire history of the individual in question, and on a case by case basis.  These are the same mistakes which have been made in the US VISIT program, and I would think every effort would be taken not to repeat them again, especially in countries which are deemed to be proactive about their level of security and border protection.

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