Burkina Faso: UN is tracking and controlling refugees’ cash and relief aid using digital IDs
Millions of people in Burkina Faso have been displaced due to ongoing and escalating violence. In a move to address the humanitarian crisis, ECOWAS is ramping up efforts to collect data.
It’s unclear what data ECOWAS is collecting but what is clear is that the humanitarian crisis has provided an opportunity for the UN to roll out its biometrics and digital ID agenda to refugees and displaced persons, and the communities that host them.
Is it all coincidence or has it all been planned?
Burkina Faso is a member of the United Nations (“UN”), La Francophonie and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It is currently suspended from the Economic Community of West African States (“ECOWAS”) and the African Union.
On Thursday it was reported that in February, Burkinabé soldiers massacred over 200 civilians in a day. Soldiers systematically forced villagers from their homes, gathered them in groups, and mercilessly opened fire, leaving no one spared, even those attempting to seek refuge. The military has justified these heinous acts as retaliation against villagers accused of aiding Islamist fighters.
Previously, Human Rights Watch has reported unlawful killings and disappearances by the army, drone strikes on civilians and the use of conscription into the army to crack down on dissent. But civilians are at even greater risk from Islamist terrorists.
Since 2015, successive Burkinabé governments have been battling an Islamist insurgency spreading from neighbouring Mali that has killed thousands of people and forcibly displaced millions. Fighting has intensified in recent years
Since late 2022 there was an upsurge of Islamist armed groups killing scores of civilians, looting and burning property, and forcing thousands to flee in attacks across the country. Jihadist groups now control over a third of the country.
But that’s not all. Recently, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said that drug trafficking in the Sahel region – i.e., Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and the Niger – continues to hinder security, economic development and the rule of law while jeopardising public health.
Last week, in a move to address humanitarian crises and combat terrorism, ECOWAS announced a multi-million-dollar initiative to aid internally displaced people, refugees, asylum seekers and communities affected by conflicts across the region.
Out of the $25 million fund for the fight against terrorism in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, $9 million has been allocated for internally displaced people (“IDPs”), refugees and asylum seekers, as well as for the communities that host them. $4 million of the $25 million has been reserved for humanitarian action to curb the devastating consequences of terrorism and mitigate the fallout of natural disasters. There are not enough details provided to establish the intention of the separate $9 million and $4 million allocations.
Nor are there details on what form or items the aid or assistance will take. However, according to Punch, ECOWAS emphasised the importance of prevention in its approach to crisis management, highlighting the implementation of a disaster reduction strategy and the utilisation of tools such as the Observation, Monitoring, and Alert Centre.”
https://expose-news.com/2024/04/26/burkina-faso-un-is-tracking-refugees-using-digital-ids/