G8 Give Green Light For Global Biometric Database
Pastor Dale Morgan
June 3, 2007
***G8 Give Green Light For Global Biometric Database*
MUNICH, Germany – G8 Justice and Interior Ministers today endorsed a
range of vital policing tools proposed by Interpol Secretary General
Ronald K. Noble aimed at enhancing global security.
Secretary General Noble exposed the global problem of prison escapes of
terrorists and other dangerous criminals not being promptly and
adequately reported to police worldwide, thereby placing the citizens of
all countries potentially at risk.
During the past two years alone, Interpol has become aware that more
than 500 prisoners have escaped from at least 72 prisons across 43
countries worldwide.
'With no system in place to automatically alert the international police
community, these dangerous criminals are given an unacceptable
opportunity to escape apprehension and to cause further harm,' said
Secretary General Noble.
'Moreover, the absence of a global protocol on sharing vital information
such as fingerprints and photographs of escaped prisoners, including
terrorists, constitutes a serious threat to the safety and security of
citizens worldwide,' he added.
Secretary General Noble also sought G8 support for the creation of an
international missing persons and unidentified bodies database.
Following the Asian tsunami in 2004, the need to develop a permanent
structure to deal with any such future natural or manmade disasters was
first raised by Germany at Interpol’s 2005 General Assembly.
Hosted by Interpol, this centralised database would enable police around
the world to maintain and access information on unidentified persons and
bodies on a day-to-day and long-term basis.
Mr. Noble also provided an update on the International Child Sexual
Exploitation (ICSE) image database being developed by Interpol at the
G8’s request.
Endorsed by the G8 in 2005, the creation of the ICSE image database at
the General Secretariat in Lyon will assist national investigators
across the globe to identify and potentially rescue victims of child
sexual abuse whose images have been posted on the Internet or retrieved
from seized computers.
Interpol has progressed with the initiative and a pilot project with
three G8 countries, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, will be
launched by the end of 2007.
Interpol media release