UNIPATH STAFF
Bahrain is introducing facial- and eye-recognition technology to help secure border crossings. The project entails building databases that could help keep people from entering the country using false documents.
Bahrain is not alone in turning to biometrics technology to bolster security. In 2003, the United Arab Emirates became one of the first nations to use iris scans at land, sea and air ports of entry, preventing thousands of deportees and ex-convicts from entering the country.
The technology works because no two human irises are the same, and they can’t be disguised by age, contact lenses or surgical alteration.
In 2013, aid workers in Jordan started using iris scans to register Syrian refugees. This improved the accuracy of refugee counts and helped avoid duplication of records. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees uses the technology to distribute cash payments through ATMs that scan users’ eyes.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry is installing the technology with the help of the Criminal Investigation Directorate, the Labor Market Regulatory Authority and the Central Informatics Organization.
Source: Gulf Daily News, IRIN News, United Arab Emirates Identity Authority