Djibouti’s counter-terrorism efforts through responsible use of biometrics get UN push

Efforts by Djiboutian law enforcement agencies to deal with violence and terrorist threats in East Africa through the responsible collection, analysis, transfer, and protection of biometric data, recently came under review in an awareness-raising workshop.

The workshop, which took place early this month, is part of a project supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which aims to support the country’s government draft legislation for the responsible management of biometric data to track criminal activities, per a UNODC announcement.

Since 2019, the country, whose geographical location is considered strategic for combatting terrorism in the region, has had support for a project which is meant to equip the country its law enforcement agencies with legal support and forensic capabilities to, among other things, trace the movement of foreign terrorist fighters making incursions into countries bordering Somalia.

Per the UNODC announcement, the project is also intended to sensitize law enforcement officers and other relevant actors to good practices in the field of biometrics and the use of Interpol’s databases, in line with two UN Security Council resolutions, the UN Compendium of recommended practices for the responsible use and sharing of biometrics in counter-terrorism, as well as the 2018 Addendum to the Madrid Guiding Principles on FTFs. Interpol has been involved in similar projects including in Cameroon.

Other partners involved in the project are the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), the University of New Haven in the United States and the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF).

With the support, Djibouti will be able to strengthen its normative framework on the responsible use of biometrics and support rule of law-based criminal investigations by easily holding to account those carrying out terrorist activities.

Attendees of the workshop also had the chance to visit the forensic science laboratory of the country’s National Police.

Djibouti is benefitting from a World Bank-supported project involving Ethiopia which aims at extending digital services to border communities of the two neighbouring countries.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  counter-terrorism  |  Djibouti  |  forensics  |  United Nations