Belize, US biometric data-sharing agreement called ‘digital colonialism’

The biometric data-sharing agreement signed between the governments of Belize and the U.S. has drawn a fierce response as critics claim it is a “humiliating” loss of sovereignty.

Belize’s Foreign Affairs Minister Francis Fonseca joined U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation launching a new Biometric Data Sharing Partnership (BDSP).

The agreement aims to bolster border security and combat organized crime by enabling authorities to exchange information. Belize’s Police Department and its Department of Border Management and Immigration Services will spearhead the program, leveraging shared biometric data to inform travel and migration processes.

However, the move has prompted concerns over sovereignty and democratic process. “This move echoes the dark practices of digital colonialism,” argues a Belizean editorial, “where small nations are pressured – or bribed – into giving away access to sensitive data systems under the guise of ‘security cooperation’.”

The editorial says that Belizeans were not consulted and that proper debate was lacking prior to the agreement. In addition, it claims the absence of independent oversight or legislation casts “a dark shadow” on the new National ID.

Belize is preparing a nationwide rollout of a biometrics-based national digital ID system, scheduled for within the next three years. Following a successful pilot for the project, the CEO of the Ministry of E-Governance Jose Urbina said this schedule could be accelerated. “So, we can be a little bit more aggressive [with deployment], but we also need to take into consideration the legislation that comes along with the national ID,” he told a radio station last week.

Fonseca has said that there are “full safeguards” in place to protect citizens’ privacy including the Belizean constitution and national legislation; that the Memorandum of Cooperation has no connection with the proposed National ID; that personal data cannot be forwarded to third parties and is used solely for security purposes.

“Anybody who travels to the United States, their data is collected,” Fonseca said, speaking to TV station GBM, as the media highlighted concerns. “You apply for a visa, data is collected. So this is about protecting our borders. This is about border security, this is about public safety.”

Under the agreement, agencies will gain access to information on known or suspected terrorists, deported felons, smugglers, gang members and other high-risk individuals, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Speaking to 7 News, a reporter there explicitly asked Fonseca if the BDSP involves “mass capture of the biometric data of all persons transiting these borders.”

Fonseca said data will be captured, but in terms of data sharing this will be on a by-request basis with specific grounds for requesting information.  “We need to capture data about who is traversing our borders,” Fonseca emphasized.

Article Topics

Belize  |  biometric data  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  data sharing  |  national ID  |  United States