Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The United Kingdom (UK) Home Office has announced a new international agreement recently to exchange migrants’ finger prints, a move which will further strengthen the international fight against illegal immigration.
Under the new agreement, the UK, Canada and Australia will be able to check fingerprint information on migrants, including foreign criminals and asylum applicants, against relevant databases in the other participating countries, a British High Commission press statement said in the capital, Dhaka on Thursday.
“This will make it easier to identify migrants who try to hide their identities and their past. It will reveal their real identities where these were not previously known, making it easier to obtain travel documentation and speed up their removal,” the statement added.
Fingerprint exchanges will also help genuine applicants by confirming their accounts. At the same time, personal information continues to be properly protected.
The new data-exchange agreement will support the checks that the UK already undertakes with its European partners, according to the statement.
All the countries involved in the data-exchange agreement uphold the importance of protecting personal information. Privacy is protected by measures including that fingerprints are anonymous and cannot be linked to an individual unless there is a match between the countries and fingerprints are destroyed and not used for any other purpose and security tools such as encryption are used to protect information that is being exchanged.
BBN/SS/SI/AD-28August09-1:34 am (BST)
