The digital ID displays name, gender, address, birth date and photo — activists fear misuse of this information in a country with a history of ethnic conflict
Ethiopian government soldiers and prisoners of war in military uniforms walk through the streets of Mekelle, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia July 2 2021. Picture: REUTERS
Birhanu is half Tigrayan, and his name largely conceals his ethnic heritage. But he is alarmed by the Ethiopian government’s rollout of a digital identity system, which he says would have certainly sealed the fate of Tigrayans during the war.The Ethiopian government is implementing a nationwide biometric digital ID system, aiming to register all eligible adults of its population of 119-million by the end of 2025.
“Ethiopia’s goal of a national digital identification registry raises strong concerns, as its application threatens to embolden ethnic profiling through disproportionate arrests and surveillance,” said Jerusalem Girmay, chief communications officer at rights group Omna Tigray. Capturing fingerprints for the new IDs can be problematic, said Belayhun Yirga, a legal policy adviser for the Fayda programme.
“However, historical precedents of Ethiopia’s misuse of data and the country’s poor digital quality of life make that far from conceivable in the near future.”Tigrayans have reported facing heightened discrimination, harassment and abuse by government officials since the conflict began in November 2020.
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