INFORMATION EXCHANGE: QATARI BORDER DATABASES AND

S E C R E T DOHA 000335

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

ABU DHABI FOR DHS/ICE (RAVILLA, RBURBANO) & FAA (RBARNETT),
PARIS FOR DHS/TSA (NLARBI),FRANKFURT FOR DHS/TSA (CLYNES)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV ASEC PTER KVPR CVIS PINR KHLS QA
SUBJECT: INFORMATION EXCHANGE: QATARI BORDER DATABASES AND
BIOMETRICS SYSTEMS

REF: 06 STATE 190832

DERIVED FROM: DSCG 05-1, B,D.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. THIS CABLE PROVIDES DETAILS OF QATAR'S USE
OF IMMIGRATION DATABASES AND BIOMETRICS SYSTEMS AT PORTS OF
ENTRY. IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS AT QATAR'S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
SCREEN ARRIVING AND DEPARTING PASSENGERS FOR PREVIOUS
PASSENGER RECORDS AND FRAUDULENT, LOST OR STOLEN TRAVEL
DOCUMENTS USING A MINISTRY OF INTERIOR DATABASE. TRANSIT
PASSENGERS ARE NOT SCREENED IN THIS MANNER. THE GOQ HAS BEGUN
ISSUING A "SMART" NATIONAL ID CARD CONTAINING BIOMETRIC DATA
FOR ITS CITIZENS; FINGERPRINTS OF FOREIGN RESIDENTS ARE
COLLECTED AND STORED BY THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR. THE MOI IS
ALSO DEVELOPING AN "E-GATE" SYSTEM AT THE AIRPORT; E-GATE
USERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENROLL SEPARATELY THROUGH DOHA'S
AIRPORT IMMIGRATION OFFICE. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) QATAR'S MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR (MOI) IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF TRAVEL DOCUMENTS AND
RESIDENCE PERMITS AND ALL IMMIGRATION CONTROLS. THE MOI
MAINTAINS A LARGE CENTRAL DATABASE, ACCESSED BY POLICE,
IMMIGRATION OFFICERS, PUBLIC PROSECUTORS, AND OTHER
GOVERNMENT OF QATAR (GOQ) AGENCIES. SEVERAL BIOMETRIC
TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING FINGERPRINTS, IRIS SCANS, AND FACIAL
RECOGNITION, HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO AND ARE BEING
DEVELOPED FOR TRAVEL DOCUMENTS, RESIDENCE PERMITS AND
IMMIGRATION CONTROLS.

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IMMIGRATION DATABASES AND WATCHLISTING
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3. (SBU) GOQ-OWNED QATAR AIRWAYS HAS A PASSENGER SCREENING
SYSTEM IN PLACE AT DOHA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, QATAR'S ONLY
CIVILIAN AIRPORT. CONOFF MET WITH QA OFFICIALS AND DETERMINED
THAT THE SYSTEM IS WORKING WELL. HOWEVER, IT DOES NOT SCREEN
FOR SECURITY INFORMATION; RATHER, IT SEARCHES ONLY FOR
PREVIOUS PASSENGER RECORDS AND FRAUDULENT, LOST OR STOLEN
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS. QA STAFF MANUALLY ENTER INFORMATION FROM
INTERPOL, FRAUDULENT, LOST AND STOLEN DOCUMENTS, AND
PASSENGER INFORMATION AS EACH IS RECEIVED. QA'S DATABASE DOES
ALLOW FOR BULK ENTRY OF LOST AND STOLEN DOCUMENTS, SUCH AS
VISAS AND PASSPORTS.


4. (S) THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR (MOI) AND GOQ AGENCIES DO NOT
SHARE SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION WITH QA. QA IS NOT AWARE
OF ANY MOI PRE-SCREENING OF TRANSIT PASSENGERS. ONLY
PASSENGERS ARRIVING TO AND DEPARTING FROM DOHA UNDERGO
IMMIGRATION AND WATCHLIST SCREENING THROUGH THE MOIS
INTERNAL DATABASES. TRANSIT PASSENGERS RECEIVE PERSONAL
SECURITY SCREENING.


5. (S) QATAR'S SECURITY SERVICES (QSS, THE DE FACTO
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY) MAINTAINS ITS OWN WATCHLIST, WITH FOUR
CATEGORIES: DO NOT ALLOW IN/OUT OF THE COUNTRY; DETAIN IF
FOUND ENTERING/LEAVING THE COUNTRY; QUESTION IF FOUND
ENTERING/LEAVING THE COUNTRY; OR SEND A SILENT ALERT IF FOUND
ENTERING/LEAVING THE COUNTRY. IT IS NOT LIKELY THAT THE
SECURITY SERVICE SHARES MUCH INFORMATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.



6. (S) THE MOI DOES MAINTAIN A CENTRAL WATCHLISTING AND
IMMIGRATION DATABASE. THIS DATABASE INCLUDES CRIMINAL AND
SOME NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION. ALL UNITS OF THE MOI
SHARE ACCESS TO MUCH OF THIS DATABASE, ALTHOUGH QSS DOES NOT
USUALLY GRANT ACCESS TO OTHER GOQ OFFICIALS TO THE MOST
SENSITIVE NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION. MOI AIRPORT
IMMIGRATION OFFICERS SCREEN ARRIVING AND DEPARTING PASSENGERS
AGAINST THIS DATABASE.


7. (S) THE MOI DATABASE CONTAINS LOCAL, REGIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION. FOR EXAMPLE, LOCAL POLICE
DEPARTMENTS ACCESS THE MOI DATABASE AND PLACE TRAVEL BANS ON
INDIVIDUALS, QATARI OR FOREIGN NATIONAL, WHO ARE CURRENTLY
PART OF ANY CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OR MAJOR COMMERCIAL
DISPUTE. AMERICAN CITIZENS HAVE BEEN DENIED EXIT FROM QATAR
ON THE SAME DAY AS THE BAN WAS APPLIED AT A LOCAL POLICE
STATION. IF A PERMANENT BAN FROM ENTRY TO QATAR IS DECREED IN
A COURT DECISION, THE BAN IS IMMEDIATELY ENTERED INTO THE MOI
DATABASE.



8. (S) GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (SAUDI ARABIA, KUWAIT,
BAHRAIN, OMAN, THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND QATAR) COUNTRIES
SHARE CRIMINAL, NATIONALITY AND INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION.
UNLIKE LOCAL POLICE ACCESS, THE REPLICATION OF DATA FROM
OTHER GCC COUNTRIES TAKES SEVERAL DAYS TO WEEKS, DEPENDING ON
HOW THE INFORMATION IS OBTAINED. THIS WAS FIRST INITIATED AS
PART OF A GCC-WIDE EFFORT TO RESOLVE THE NATIONALITY OF
VARIOUS TRIBESPEOPLE WHO OPENLY ROAMED AREAS NOW DIVIDED BY
MODERN STATE BORDERS. THE MOI ALSO RECEIVES AND MANUALLY
INPUTS INTERPOL LOOKOUTS.

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BIOMETRICS AND POES
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9. (SBU) QATAR HAS SEVERAL BIOMETRIC PROJECTS UNDERWAY. THE
MOI'S TRAVEL DOCUMENTS SECTION (TDS) IS AN ACTIVE
PARTICIPANT IN INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION
(ICAO) MEETINGS. IN 2004, THEY USED ICAO STANDARDS TO PRODUCE
AN ICAO-COMPLIANT PASSPORT AND NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.
THIS PASSPORT AND NATIONAL ID CARD INCLUDES A DIGITAL
PHOTOGRAPH, BIODATA, AND THE BEARER'S SIGNATURE.


10. (S) IN 2006, THE MOI BEGAN FINGERPRINTING AND CAPTURING
IRIS SCANS FOR ALL QATARI CITIZENS APPLYING FOR NEW "SMART"
NATIONAL ID CARDS. WHEN SCANNED OR READ, THE SMART ID CARDS
LINK TO THE BEARERS MOI DATABASE RECORD, WHICH INCLUDES
FINGERSCANS, IRIS SCANS, BIODATA, DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH, AND
SIGNATURE. ACCORDING TO TDS STAFF, THE SMART ID CARD IS NOT
YET FULLY OPERATIONAL. QATARI CITIZENS MUST POSSESS A VALID
NATIONAL ID CARD IN ORDER TO APPLY FOR A PASSPORT. THE MOI
PLANS TO PRODUCE AN E-PASSPORT SIMILAR TO THE SMART NATIONAL
ID CARD BY THE END OF 2007.


11. (SBU) ALL ADULT FOREIGN RESIDENTS ARE ALSO REQUIRED TO
PROVIDE FULL FINGERPRINTS TO RECEIVE A RESIDENCE PERMIT. ALL
BIOMETRIC DATA COLLECTED FOR RESIDENTS IS STORED ON THE MOI'S
CENTRAL DATABASE, ACCESSED WIDELY BY MOI PERSONNEL.


12. (SBU) THE MOI IS ALSO DEVELOPING AN "E-GATE" SYSTEM AT
DOHA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE SYSTEM WILL INCLUDE BIOMETRIC
ENROLLMENT SIMILAR TO DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT'S
E-CHECK-IN SYSTEM. E-GATE USERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENROLL
SEPARATELY THROUGH DOHAS AIRPORT IMMIGRATION OFFICE AND
OBTAIN A SEPARATE E-GATE CARD. IN THE FUTURE, THE SMART
NATIONAL ID AND A SIMILAR RESIDENCE PERMIT WILL ENABLE USE OF
THE E-GATE. AIRPORT IMMIGRATION STAFF NOTED THAT THE E-GATE
SYSTEM WILL EVENTUALLY BE INTEGRATED WITH OTHER GCC COUNTRIES
SO THAT GCC NATIONALS AND RESIDENTS CAN TRAVEL WITHIN THE GCC
REGION MORE EASILY. QA'S SECURITY MANAGER TOLD US THAT THE
"E-GATE" SYSTEM WILL NOT LIKELY BE OPERATIONAL UNTIL NEXT
YEAR.


13. (S) THE E-GATE SYSTEM IS LINKED TO AND APPLICANTS ARE
VETTED AGAINST THE MOI'S DATABASE. E-GATE ARRIVAL AND
DEPARTURE WILL BE STORED IN MOI'S DATABASE. E-GATE ENTRY
KIOSKS CONSIST OF A ROW OF ELECTRONIC TURNSTILES. WHEN
ARRIVING, INDIVIDUALS MUST SCAN THEIR E-GATE CARD AND
PASSPORT AND PROVIDE INDEX FINGERSCANS. THE E-GATE SYSTEM
THEN CHECKS MOI'S DATABASE. IF THE INDIVIDUAL IS CLEARED, A
LARGE METAL ARM DROPS AND ALLOWS ENTRY. IF THE INDIVIDUAL IS
NOT CLEARED, A MOI IMMIGRATION OFFICER POSTED AT THE
TURNSTILES IS PROMPTED TO ESCORT THE INDIVIDUAL TO THE
SECONDARY SCREENING AREA.

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FLIGHTS TO U.S.
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14. (SBU) QATAR AIRWAYS HAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE INAUGURAL
FLIGHT TO THE U.S. WILL BE ON JUNE 28 FROM DOHA (THROUGH
GENEVA) TO JFK, AND THEN APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH LATER QA
PLANS TO FLY TO WASH DC DULLES. PRIVATE DISCUSSIONS HAVE
REVEALED THAT QA PLANS TO COMMENCE FLIGHTS TO LOS ANGELES AND
HOUSTON IN 2008. THE AIRLINE'S SECURITY MANAGER AND A SALES
MANAGER HAVE NOTED THAT A CODE-SHARE IS NOT LIKELY
IMMEDIATELY FOR THE U.S. FLIGHTS ALTHOUGH IT IS WORKING ON
SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT. QA IS NOT A FULL STAR ALLIANCE PARTNER,
BUT IT WILL HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH UNITED TO PROVIDE
MECHANICAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER SERVICES AT DULLES.
UNTERMEYER