The Mizoram Government has refused to collect biometric data from
Myanmar refugees residing in the State saying it would amount to violation of
rights.
The move to collect biometric data of 30,000 plus Myanmar nationals
living in Mizoram since February 2021 was met with strong opposition from the State
Government. The refugees sought shelter in Mizoram following a military coup in
Myanmar.
The pilot project for recording biometric data of Myanmar nationals
was launched across all 11 districts of Mizoram, primarily in relief camps.
However, the State Government, led by Chief Minister Zoramthanga,
raised concerns about the potential violation of the refugees’ rights.
This development comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs had
initially instructed both Manipur and Mizoram to collect biometric details of
illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
The deadline for completing this exercise was set for September 30.
Still, Mizoram faced delays as the original data collection format had to be
modified to accommodate information from Myanmar nationals.
It’s worth noting that the Mizoram Government had previously
undertaken efforts to profile Myanmar nationals and issued identity cards to
them independently.
