Paper details

Paper authors	Kerrie Holloway
In panel on	Technology, Innovation and Experimentation in the Refugee Sector
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

The use of digital identity and biometrics in the humanitarian sector continues to increase, and the risks of using these technologies go beyond technical failure and relate to broader issues. The addition of technology has often deepened, rather than solved, long-standing structural issues, such as the unequal power dynamics between aid giver and aid receiver, and questions of inclusion and exclusion, such as who gets to decide who is included and how these decisions are made. Due to their immutable nature, the use of biometrics has thrown up several human rights issues around choice, informed consent, privacy and data protection for those who need humanitarian assistance, as well as highlighting wider issues around ethics and data responsibility in the sector.

In Jordan, refugees living outside of camps rely on iris-scan technology to access cash assistance at ATMs. This paper explores the issues of inclusion and exclusion, as well as choice, data privacy and ethics as experienced by refugees in Jordan. It highlights the issues that matter most to the refugees themselves, and it explains why these issues diverge from those the humanitarian sector tends to discuss. Finally, it offers recommendations and ways forward for improving the cash assistance programme in Jordan.

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