UN Data Protection 101

By
Amnah Salman
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566
Data Protection Day - IOM
Data Protection Day - IOM

New York, 28 January 2022 (TDI): Data protection has always been an issue for governments, especially considering the rise in the level of cyberattacks in recent years.

The United Nations otherwise denoted as the UN in recent years has become increasingly concerned about cyber security in relation to the issue of migration. A tweet was posted by the United Nations related to this matter earlier today:

According to reliable data brought forward by the United Nations, there has been a rise in the level of data loss, data theft, disclosure, and misuse of personal data. This has raised concerns regarding the implementation of data protection and privacy policies and safety guards.

While there has been evidence to support that an increase in data sharing has proven to be useful to conduct analysis of various countries across borders, and to construct policies on the basis of evidence.

Despite the fact that there has been an increase in the need for timely data related to migration, it is also essential to note that human beings have a right to privacy, which makes data protection an essential trait.

If there is an increasing lack of safeguards that could serve as protection to the people’s data, the right to privacy is threatened for many individuals across the spectrum. The right to privacy when it comes to issues such as human trafficking, child marriages, and migration smuggling.

In such cases, subject identification can result in life-threatening circumstances for the individual. Thus, migration data officers and collectors have ensured that there are proper data collection and privacy laws in place that protects personal data from getting into the wrong hands.

There is a strong need for data protection emerged globally
Legal frameworks surrounding migration and data protection

There are several laws, regulations, and policies surrounding data protection when it comes to migration. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, within the arena of law, data protection is an aspect that is continuously evolving to protect a person’s basic human rights in relation to their family and private life.

This right to privacy and data protection is also ensured by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as well as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; all of such rights ensure the individuals are given control in regards to the collection of their data and where it is used.

Apart from data protection being a basic human right, it also stands as being one of the prominent problems within international ethics. Organizations, cooperation’s and researchers have the responsibility to provide in-depth information which describes the way they intend to use the information they are collecting, storing, and redistributing.

According to the European Commission, 2018, during every stage of such processes, it is important that the data used be protected, decreased, and destroyed.

International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s definition of data protection

According to the IOM in 2011, data protection is defined as a systemic application of a number of technical, institutional, and physical safety guards that ensure the protection of the right to privacy in terms of storage, collection, use as well as disclosure of said personal data.

Personal data in this case is defined by the IOM as any information related to a subject that is identifiable or is recorded either through paper or through an electronic medium. In terms of data subjects, the IOM has defined them as the individuals that have the chances of being indirectly or directly identified through a reference of a particular factor or a number of factors.

These factors could be for instance the identification number, name, physical, mental, cultural, economic, social, or material circumstances. In terms of consent, IOM defines it to be a declaration, either an oral one or a written one which indicates explicit permission to collect and use data of an individual.

Such a phenomenon like consent is likely to happen when data subjects have come to an agreement to have their personal information collected shortly having acknowledged all the relevant factors related to the data being collected and processed.

However, what is essential is that such consent should have been recorded, this could be through interviews, application forms, electronic records, or registration.