Photo quality can affect the acceptance of identity documents for asylum seekers or refugees on the road to “protection and freedom”. ID applications can be rejected on the basis that the photo image or data on the data page of a document is stolen or counterfeited.
Since the new standard for photo image quality assessment, The UN Refugee Agency wants to align their policies for quality documents, incorporating real passport style photos and accurate data along with strong security features.
The agency upholds standards for biometric face photos included in refugee ID applications however needs to be continually reviewing its ID policies. They launched a Photo Quality Initiative to regulate the data on ID applications and reduce inequalities in accessing services.
The UNHCR database includes 9 million people’s data including facial photographs. They recently held a meeting with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s ) New Technology Working Group in Denmark to discuss contributing the developing standard to the Biometric Passport Standard, which both issue guidelines for the size and quality of facial photographs as part of ID documents.
