U.N. proposes universal identification scheme
Refugees meeting hears proposal to register every human in Geneva


By Maria Hawthorne
Published: Friday December 14
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia


Every person in the world would be fingerprinted and registered under a
universal identification scheme to fight illegal immigration and people
smuggling outlined at a United Nations meeting today
.

The plan was put forward by Pascal Smet, the head of Belgium's independent
asylum review board, at a roundtable meeting with ministers including
Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock this afternoon.

Mr Smet said the European Union was already considering a Europe-wide
system, using either fingerprints or eye scanning technology, to identify
citizens.


But he said the plan could be extended worldwide.

"There are no technical problems. It is only a question of will and
investment," he said.

"If you look to our societies, we are already registered from birth until
death. Our governments know who we are and what we are. But one of the basic
problems is the numbers of people in the world who are not registered, who
do not have a set identity, and when these people move with real or fake
passports, you cannot identify them.

"It's a basic rule of management that if you want to manage something, you
measure it. It's the same withhuman beings and migration.

"But instead of measuring it, you have to register them."

Mr Smet said the scheme would give people dignity by giving them an identity
if their papers had been lost or destroyed.

And he said it would allow countries to open their borders to genuine
travellers or asylum seekers, because they would be able to prove the
identity of any over-stayers and deport them without argument from their
home country.

Mr Ruddock appeared unconvinced by the merits of the plan.

"In principle we would be supportive of a system which would crack down on
multiple asylum claims, but a universal identification system would be
taking it too far," he said through a spokeswoman.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only. [Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml]

Back to Current Edition Citizen Review Archive LINKS Search This Site