Keeping UNHCR’s Biometrics System up to date
When UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, began collecting biometrics in 2002, it was for one local and very specific use case: To facilitate fair and single-time cash grants, irises of Afghan refugees in Pakistan were collected.
Alongside many developments in biometrics over the past two decades, UNHCR explored and implemented different biometric tools in different regions and for different purposes. Since the beginning, biometrics brought direct benefits to refugees, UNHCR, and partners alike, and are now considered an integral component of registration data in over 90 UNHCR country operations globally.