The colonial biometric legacy at heart of new #EU #asylum system

"On Wednesday (10 April), the EU is set to vote on a new set of asylum and migration reforms. Among the many controversial changes proposed in the new migration pact, one went almost unnoticed — a seemingly innocent reform of the EU's asylum database, #EURODAC.

Although framed as purely technical adjustments, the reality is far more malicious. The changes to EURODAC will massively exacerbate violence against people on the move.
Reform of this 20 year-old database will make it the technological sword of EU's hostile asylum and border policies. It will harness the most nefarious surveillance #technologies that exist to date — namely the capture, processing and analysis of biometric data — and enable EU states to have full control over #migrants' body and movements....."

via @edri
euobserver.com/opinion/158292

#Surveillance #FortressEurope #Europe #FightTheFortress

The colonial biometric legacy at heart of new EU asylum system

Collecting additional biometric data has been justified by EU policymakers because it was reported that some asylum seekers voluntarily burn or damage their fingers to alter their fingerprints and avoid identification.

^EUobserver