US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI5034

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 005034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR CA/FO; CA/EX; CA/VO; NEA/FO; NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CMGT, CVIS, KPAO, TC 
SUBJECT:  BIOMETRICS STIR THE POT IN THE UAE 
 
REFS:  (A) STATE 297152 
 
1. SUMMARY:  THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND CONSULAR SECTION IN ABU DHABI 
HOSTED A PRESS BRIEFING ON THE FINGERPRINTING OF NIV APPLICANTS 
AT THE US EMBASSY.  IN ADDITION, DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION (DCM) 
AND CONSULAR CHIEF BRIEFED THE DIRECTOR OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS AT 
THE UAE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (MFA) ON THE NEW 
FINGERPRINTING PROCEDURES AT THE EMBASSY.  NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED 
ACCURATE, INFORMATIONAL STORIES AND THE DIRECTOR OF CONSULAR 
AFFAIRS EXPRESSED HIS UNDERSTANDING. ALTHOUGH ONE UAE OFFICIAL 
HAS REFUSED TO BE FINGERPRINTED SAYING HE WAS BEING TREATED LIKE 
A "CRIMINAL," THE UAE'S MAJORITY THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS (TCN) 
ARE TAKING IT ALL IN STRIDE, ALREADY SUBJECT TO FINGERPRINTING 
AND RETINAL SCANS BY THE UAE AND EMIRATE-LEVEL GOVERNMENTS.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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BIOMETRICS AND MORE - A NEW BEGINNING IN THE UAE 
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2.  BEGINNING IN OCTOBER 23, 2003, A VISITING ORKAND TEAM BEGAN 
INSTALLING FINGERPRINTING COLLECTION DEVICES AT THE INTERVIEW 
WINDOWS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CONSULAR SECTION'S ROUTINE 
COMPUTER UPGRADE SCHEDULE.  FOLLOWING INSTALLATION, THE CONSULAR 
SECTION BEGAN COLLECTING FINGERPRINTS FROM THE REQUIRED NIV 
APPLICANTS ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2003. 
 
3.  IN RESPONSE TO STATE 297152, THE CONSULAR SECTION WORKED WITH 
THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION (PAS) TO INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE 
NEW BIOMETRIC COLLECTION PROCEDURES.  TO DO SO, PAS INVITED 
JOURNALISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM ALL UAE ENGLISH AND ARABIC 
DAILIES FOR A ONE-HOUR BRIEFING BY CONSULAR AND PA STAFF. UPON 
ARRIVAL, JOURNALISTS WERE PROVIDED ENGLISH AND ARABIC PRESS 
RELEASES DRAWING UPON REFTEL TALKING POINTS AND MAY 6 AND 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2003, CA PRESS GUIDANCE.  VICE CONSUL AND PAS 
INFORMATION SPECIALIST THEN DEMONSTRATED THE FINGERPRINTING 
TECHNIQUES TO THE JOURNALISTS.  JOURNALISTS VIEWED THE 
DEMONSTRATION TWICE - IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND THE CONSULAR WINDOW. 
 
4.  AFTER THE DEMONSTRATION, PAO AND VICE CONSUL TOOK QUESTIONS 
FROM THE PRESS, JOURNALISTS FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON THE 
APPROPRIATENESS OF FINGERPRINTING AND QUESTIONED WHETHER OR NOT 
THE FINGERPRINTING WAS FOCUSED ON ARAB AND MUSLIM AUDIENCES. VICE 
CONSUL RESPONDED THAT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE, AND, AS REASSURANCE, 
SHOWED JOURNALISTS THE STACKS OF OLD COMPUTERS THE ORKAND TEAM 
HAS JUST FINISHED REPLACING WITH NEW PENTIUM IV SYSTEMS. 
(COMMENT: WE RECOMMEND OTHER POSTS DO THE SAME IF POSSIBLE, AS 
THIS SEEMED CONVINCING TO THE JOURNALISTS PRESENT. END COMMENT.) 
 
5.  ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, JOURNALISTS PUBLISHED THEIR STORIES. 
ALL ARTICLES COVERED THE INFORMATION PROVIDED TO JOURNALISTS, 
INCLUDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FINGERPRINTING SOLELY BASED ON 
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES AND MENTIONING FRANKFURT, BRUSSELS, 
SAN SALVADOR, AND GUATEMALA CITY AS THE FIRST FINGERPRINTING 
POSTS. 
 
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UAE REACTION - IT'S NOT SO GREAT WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU! 
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6.  IN A NOVEMBER 9 MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS 
AT THE MFA, DCM EXPLAINED THE NEW FINGERPRINTING PROCEDURES.  THE 
DIRECTOR OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS EXPRESSED HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE 
NEED TO MOVE TOWARDS BIOMETRICS TO ENHANCE THE SECURITY OF THE 
UNITED STATES. HE BRIEFLY COMMENTED ON THE RETINAL SCANS IN PLACE 
AT UAE PORTS OF ENTRY FOR CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF VISITORS TO THE 
UAE, IN PARTICULAR WORKERS FROM INDIA, PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH. 
HE EXPRESSED SATISFACTION THAT FINGERPRINTING DID NOT APPLY TO A- 
1 AND A-2 VISA CATEGORIES. 
 
7.  COMMENT:  PUBLIC REACTION TO THE INITIATION OF FINGERPRINTING 
OF  NIV  APPLICANTS HAS BEEN MIXED.  THE UAE POPULATION  IS  MORE 
DISTURBED  BY  THE  PROSPECT  OF FINGERPRINTING  THAN  THE  UAE'S 
MAJORITY  TCN  POPULATION.   CONSULAR  STAFF  HAVE  NOT  RECEIVED 
COMPLAINTS FROM TCN APPLICANTS, WHO HAVE THEIR FINGERPRINTS TAKEN 
FOR   RESIDENCE  VISAS  AND  IDS  BY  FEDERAL  AND  EMIRATE-LEVEL 
GOVERNMENTS.  CERTAIN TCNS ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO RETINAL  SCANS  AT 
UAE AIRPORTS. 
 
8. REACTION BY UAE NATIONALS, ON THE OTHER HAND, REMAINS MIXED. 
THE VAST MAJORITY OF UAE NATIONAL STUDENT AND TOURIST VISA 
APPLICANTS HAVE COMPLIED QUIETLY AND CALMY WHEN REQUESTED FOR 
THEIR FINGERPRINTS.  THE PROSPECT FOR TURMOIL WITH GOVERNMENT 
OFFICIALS AND PROMINENT UAE NATIONALS, HOWEVER, REMAINS TO BE 
SEEN.  ONE UAE SENIOR UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATOR OFFICIAL, THE 
SUBJECT OF A CLASS A VISA REFERRAL, REFUSED TO COME TO THE 
EMBASSY AND TOLD PAS STAFF THAT HE "WOULD NOT BE TREATED LIKE A 
CRIMINAL." THIS REACTION ONLY STRESSES THE CONTINUING NEED TO 
INFORM APPLICANTS THAT BIOMETRIC CAPTURE CAPABILITY NOT ONLY 
ENHANCES NATIONAL BORDER SECURITY TO THE BENEFIT OF U.S. CITIZENS 
AND PERMANENT RESIDENTS, BUT INCREASES THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF 
VISITORS TO THE UNITED STATES AS WELL. END COMMENT. 
 
WAHBA