Background material on biometrics and enhanced network systems for the security of international travel

The background material included in the document is intended to provide an overview of:

• National policies and legal frameworks for strengthening air security through the use of information systems and networks at international, regional and national levels. 
• International organisations carrying work in the area of travel security. 
• Different types of existing and pilot systems. 

The document also introduces biometric technologies, their possible uses in the context of international travel and related issues such as efficiency, storage medium, and interoperability. 

Finally, the document identifies a number of privacy, security and societal issues raised by the processing and international sharing of personal data, including biometrics, in relation to enhancing international travel. 

To complete this overview, several annexes provide principles extracted from OECD Guidelines in the areas of privacy (1980), security of information systems and networks (2002) and cryptography (1997), as well an excerpt from a Discussion Paper on Consumer Biometric Application by the Information and Privacy Commissioner from Ontario, Canada.