Human Rights Center Webinar

About the Webinar: The distinct value and practical benefits of the use of biometric data is increasingly acknowledged and emphasized, including in the context of addressing trans-border challenges in law enforcement and intelligence gathering, border management, evidentiary and forensic use, etc. This trend is also reflected in the regulatory efforts by the United Nations Security Council with its resolution 2396 requiring that States “develop and implement systems to collect biometric data” in order to “responsibly and properly identify terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters”.

Despite the rapid advance of biometric technology and its widespread usage, human rights analysis and guidance on its use remains limited and underdeveloped. The Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights has repeatedly highlighted this shortcoming, including in her report to the 73rd session of General Assembly and stressed the need for granular rule of law and human rights-based analysis in relation to the extensive obligations imposed by the Security Council, with particular emphasis on requirements relating to biometric systems and data. 

This webinar presents the findings of the research project conducted by the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School, in support of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, exploring the human rights implications of the use of biometric tools and data and challenges to their human rights-compliant deployment in the context of preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism. A study detailing the research will be published by the Human Rights Center. 

Click here to join the webinar on February 25. The webinar is hosted through Zoom.