Author ORCID Identifier
Çağlar Açıkyıldız: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7685-8332
Abstract
Biometric data, including unique identifiers such as fingerprints, iris scans, and facial images, has assumed a crucial role in international aid operations. Humanitarian organizations emphasize the potential of biometrics to prevent fraud, enhance identity management, and streamline aid delivery, while critical scholarship raises concerns about privacy violations and exclusionary outcomes. Yet empirical studies examining the impacts of biometric systems in humanitarian field practice remain limited. This paper addresses that gap by analyzing the use of biometrics in Lebanon, the country hosting the world’s highest number of refugees per capita and per square kilometer. Drawing on document analysis and 12 in-person interviews with humanitarian experts and human rights advocates, the study explores how biometric systems shape outcomes, decision-making processes, and the distribution of risks and benefits across different actors. It does so by applying a data justice framework that distinguishes between instrumental, procedural, and distributive dimensions of justice. Findings indicate that while biometric systems offer operational advantages for humanitarian organizations, they also generate substantial challenges for refugees, including privacy breaches, misidentification, and exclusion. The paper calls for more critical and context-sensitive evaluations of biometric technologies, assessing not only their technical performance but also the socio-technical and power dynamics through which they operate.
Recommended Citation
Açıkyıldız, Ç.
(In press).
A Blessing or a Curse? Uncovering the Impact of Biometrics on Humanitarian Response in Lebanon.
Information Technology for Development.
Available at:
https://aisel.aisnet.org/itd/vol32/iss1/1