Introduction
Biometric registration — or the collection and storage of identity data such as fingerprints, iris scans, and demographic information — is increasingly used as a prerequisite for the receipt of humanitarian assistance globally. The World Food Programme (WFP), for example, has registered the biometric data of over 64 million people worldwide while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has the data of almost 12 million across the agency’s country programs.
In addition to its use across the UN system, biometric registration is also a foundation of food assistance, cash programming, and other interventions implemented by both international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The practice’s widespread acceptance and usage within the humanitarian system has not come without debate, however. The collection of such sensitive bodily measures for humanitarian purposes has been and continues to be contested throughout the aid sector, with contrasting approaches adapted by different agencies. This paper seeks to outline some of the conflict sensitivity concerns related to the use of biometrics in South Sudan, where the collection of identity data is a prerequisite for most assistance in the country and over six million South Sudanese have been registered by humanitarian organisations to date.