They see risk in the Single Identification Platform

The recent reform to the General Law on Missing Persons, which includes the creation of the Single Identification Platform (PUI), was analyzed by Mónica Meltis, executive director of Data Cívica, who warned that while this tool can facilitate cross-referencing information to locate missing persons, it also poses significant risks in its implementation and use.

During a forum marking the Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Meltis emphasized that the participation of families in the search process should not be understood as a concession from the State, but rather as a legal and moral obligation.

Similarly, the specialist explained that the PUI aims to interconnect databases in health, migration, justice, telecommunications, and other fields, and function as an official means of real-time identity verification.

The central component is the so-called biometric CURP, which would include fingerprints, iris scans, and other sensitive data.

“Among the concerns, the first thing is knowing how and when the PUI will be carried out (…) It was possible to incorporate a traceability element to understand who is using the platform, but it is not clear how the families will be accountable.”

He also stated that a number of authorities could use this platform, but it is also unclear whether it will be used for search and identification purposes.

For her part, Volga de la Piña, managing partner at Dragon Lab Consultoras, considered that one of the factors to consider is local prosecutors' offices.

"In official circles, they still don't understand what searching means. We're stuck with tools. Gathering data for the sake of gathering it is useless. The elephant in the room that's keeping us from doing anything is the prosecutor's offices," she stated.

Talks begin

For their part, the National Electoral Institute (INE) and the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications (ATDyT) held an initial meeting to formalize a collaboration agreement for the identification of missing persons through the Federal Electoral Registry.

It was announced that during this working meeting, they explored a joint critical path to formalize an agreement with the main objective of working with the Federal Registry of Voters (RFE) database.

They also clarified that this initial meeting is intended to develop a work agenda that covers the topics of inter-institutional collaboration established in the reforms to the General Law on Forced Disappearances of Persons, Disappearances Committed by Individuals, and the National System for the Search for Persons, the General Population Law, and the National Law to Eliminate Bureaucratic Procedures.