Data Protection

Please read the Privacy Notice and the General Terms and Conditions that govern your access as a user of the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp Service. By sending a message to the service, you confirm that you understand and accept these terms and conditions. During your first interaction with the service, you will be explicitly asked to accept these terms and conditions. By confirming your acceptance when prompted through the WhatsApp interface, you will sign a legally binding agreement with UNHCR.

UNHCR Panama WhatsApp Service User Agreement

Privacy Statement

1. Who we are

UNHCR is the United Nations Refugee Agency, which provides protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and internally displaced persons.

UNHCR collects and uses personal data in accordance with the UNHCR General Policy on Personal Data Protection and Privacy (2022) and the UNHCR Policy on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern to UNHCR (2015). This privacy notice explains how our organization uses the personal data we collect when you use our self-service platform (“UNHCR Panama WhatsApp Service”) and your rights regarding our use of your personal data.

2. How and Why we collect data when providing the UNHCR Panama Whatsapp Service

When you interact with the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp Service, UNHCR processes some personal data based on its mandate, which is necessary for the application to function and to respond to your messages and questions.

Your data will be processed by UNHCR and the companies Twilio and Ciptex, technological partners contracted by UNHCR, who support the management of this service through the Twilio Flex platform. Messages will be securely stored at UNHCR and may be viewed by Ciptex, the company that provides IT support and maintenance for the platform.

We will process the following personal data when providing the service to you:

• Phone number
• Profile name
• Message content

We will use this data to directly follow up on your questions. Your contact details will be shared with relevant service providers or other UNHCR teams, when necessary, to ensure the most appropriate response and to provide you with relevant and timely information and support services that you request through the UNHCR WhatsApp service in Panama.

The following personal data must be shared or processed by UNHCR’s technological partners. This is essential for the effective delivery of the service through the platform, routing user messages to UNHCR and vice versa, and facilitating message delivery automation based on the content of received messages.

Your personal data will not be used for commercial purposes or other purposes incompatible with the specific purposes mentioned above.

As WhatsApp is used as the channel for this service, WhatsApp will also capture certain data, depending on your particular account and device settings for the WhatsApp application, in accordance with their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. However, this is not related in any way to the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp service.

Your data will be stored for a maximum period of 365 days from your last interaction with the service, after which it will be deleted. There is no automated decision-making when you use this service.

3. Confidentiality

UNHCR and its technological partners Twilio and Ciptex will keep your personal data secure and confidential, including through WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption and secure storage within UNHCR’s private cloud hosting.

For the service to function, your data will be sent to WhatsApp and processed through Twilio when you interact with the service, but they will not see the content of your messages. The content will be viewed by specific UNHCR personnel to answer your questions or ensure that automated responses work. UNHCR’s support and maintenance service provider, Ciptex, may also have access to your content to provide and maintain the WhatsApp Service, but this will be done on behalf of and under the supervision of UNHCR.

Under no circumstances will we share your personal data with the government of your country of origin or with any third party other than our technological partners.

If it becomes necessary to share your data with UNHCR partners to follow up on your question or case, you will be informed and given the opportunity to opt-out.

4. Data Processing to Prevent Harm, Report Missing Persons, or Comply with International Law

UNHCR may retain your information and share it with third parties if the organization believes in good faith that doing so is necessary to prevent immediate death or bodily injury to you or others, help locate refugees or other forcibly displaced persons who have been reported missing, or prevent violations of international law. If we do so, it will be in compliance with our data protection and personal privacy framework.

5. What are your rights and how can you exercise them?

You have the following rights regarding our use of your personal data:

Objection and Deletion: To stop receiving messages from the service, simply send a message with the word “DEJAR“ (STOP) to the service. To opt-out and request the deletion of your data from the platform, including all messages exchanged with UNHCR, send the word “BORRAR” (DELETE). It may take us up to 10 days to process this request and delete your data, but we will try to do so as soon as possible.

Access: You can access your personal data by inquiring about the personal data we process by sending an email to [email protected].

Correction: If you notice that your personal data is inaccurate or incomplete, you can request its correction by sending an email to [email protected].

6. Raising concerns

UNHCR is committed to working with you to obtain a fair resolution to any concerns arising from the use of this service, including privacy concerns. If you feel we have been unable to assist you with your concern through the communication channel established in Section 5 above, or if you have any other complaints, comments, or concerns, you have the right to file a complaint through our internal complaints mechanism. For information on this mechanism, please visit help.unhcr.org/panama

7. Notification of changes

UNHCR reserves the right to modify this Privacy Notice at any time. Whenever changes are made, you will be notified and you must accept the new terms to continue using the service.

UNHCR Panama Whatsapp service

General Terms and Conditions

Please read the Privacy Notice and the General Terms and Conditions governing your access as a user of the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp Service. By sending a message to the service, you confirm that you understand and accept these terms and conditions. During your first interaction with the service, you will be explicitly asked to accept these terms and conditions. By confirming your acceptance when prompted through the WhatsApp interface, you will sign a legally binding agreement with UNHCR.

Using the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp Service means you agree to all of the below:

1. Use of UNHCR Panama WhatsApp Service

By using the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp service, you agree to the following terms, which complement the applicable WhatsApp Terms of Service:

• Do not give false information about your affiliation with another user.
• Do not share any personal data about yourself or others unless specifically requested.
• When messaging operators ask you for information to check which services are available to you, and you choose to share this information, ensure that the information is as accurate as possible.
• Do not use any obscene, discriminatory, or abusive language with the messaging operators.
• You may not sell the information you obtain from the service to others or charge people for using it on their mobile devices.
• Do not use the application to violate the intellectual property rights of other people or entities (i.e., rights protecting creative and intellectual efforts, including copyright, designs, patents, trademarks, and confidential information that may be part of its content).

By using the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp service, which is powered by the Twilio Flex platform, you will be considered an end-user of Twilio. Therefore, you also agree to comply with Twilio’s Acceptable Use Policy, including the following rules:

• Do not use the Service to transmit or store any content that is illegal, harmful, unwanted, inappropriate, or objectionable.
• Do not share false and/or inaccurate content, content that is hateful or encourages hatred or violence against individuals or groups, or content that could jeopardize public safety.
• Do not use the Service to engage in or encourage any activity that is illegal, deceptive, harmful, violates the rights of others, or damages Twilio’s business operations or reputation.

2. Restriction of access

UNHCR may decide, at its sole discretion, (a) not to respond to users of the service and suspend access to the service if they are abusive or do not follow the applicable rules set out above, and/or (b) not to allow users access to the service if this puts any person at risk.

3. Disclaimer

UNHCR aims to ensure that the content provided through the UNHCR WhatsApp service is as accurate as possible, but information changes regularly, and as such, there may be a slight delay in updating information within the service. It is also not in a position to provide relevant information for a country other than the declared country of operation.

While UNHCR cannot guarantee that there are no errors in the information provided, it endeavors to correct errors brought to its attention. The content of the application is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind. Specifically, UNHCR makes no warranties as to the suitability, quality, timeliness, accuracy, or completeness of the information and service offered through the application.

By providing this service, UNHCR does not endorse WhatsApp or any other messaging application from other providers. Use of the service does not mean that the user is guaranteed access to any specific information or services. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgment by UNHCR on the legal status of those countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions, or the delimitation of their borders.

4. Information outside of UNHCR

The service may direct you to information from service providers or actors outside of UNHCR, including content providers, third parties providing information in the application, any user of the application, or any other person or entity. In addition, other agents may provide information about UNHCR. UNHCR does not control the information provided by external agents. This means that UNHCR cannot verify if such external information is accurate, and the organization is not responsible for the information or the results, including loss or damage, arising from its use. UNHCR offers no warranties and specifically disclaims any liability of any nature for any loss or damage caused in connection with the use of such services.

5. Security Measures
UNHCR will take appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure that your data is kept secure and cannot be sent to or used by unauthorized agents, but it cannot guarantee complete security given the inherent security risks associated with digital tools.

The use of WhatsApp also means that certain data and usage are captured by Meta, owner of WhatsApp, independently of the use of this service. UNHCR is not responsible for any issues or other uses of your data by other service providers, or other risks arising from the use of third-party mobile applications.

6. Changes to the WhatsApp Service

UNHCR will periodically review the operation of the service and make changes to improve it if possible. By using the service, you authorize UNHCR to anonymously review conversations and interactions with people to see what changes or improvements are needed. If any change is made that affects you, your personal data, or anything within these terms, UNHCR will inform you of these changes. UNHCR may need to modify the service based on its available resources or changes in the situation without prior notice, but will notify you of the changes afterward.

7. Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about the service or these terms, please send an email to [email protected].

8. Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights related to materials owned by UNHCR provided through the application shall remain the property of UNHCR, unless otherwise stated. Extracts of materials and other information provided in the application may be viewed, downloaded, and printed solely for personal, non-commercial use, without any right to sell, resell, or create derivative works therefrom.

Any use other than for personal purposes, including the reproduction or translation of substantial portions of materials owned by UNHCR, requires prior and express written permission from UNHCR.

Furthermore, UNHCR reserves the right to seek all remedies available by law for any violation of these terms and conditions, including any violation of UNHCR’s rights regarding the UNHCR name and emblem, and its rights in connection with the information, artwork, text, video, audio, or images available through the application.

9. UNHCR Name and Emblem

The name and emblem of UNHCR are the exclusive property of UNHCR. They are protected by international law. Unauthorized use is prohibited. They may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of UNHCR.

10. Notification of Changes

The content of the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp information service is selected based on UNHCR’s own criteria at its sole discretion at any time and may change without notice. UNHCR reserves the right to change or discontinue at any time any aspect or feature of the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp information service, including, but not limited to, these terms and conditions and availability.

11. Special status of UNHCR

UNHCR has a special status as a United Nations organization and, as such, receives some additional safeguards related to the independence and neutrality of its activities, including the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp information service. As such, nothing in, or relating to, this notice or the UNHCR Panama WhatsApp information service shall be deemed a waiver of any of the privileges and immunities of UNHCR as an integral part of the United Nations pursuant to applicable national and international legal instruments.

12. Raising concerns

UNHCR is committed to working with you to obtain a fair resolution to any concerns arising from the use of the service. If you believe we have been unable to assist you with your concern through the communication channel established in Section 7 above, or if you have any other concerns or complaints, you have the right to submit them through our internal complaints mechanism. For information on this mechanism, please visit help.unhcr.org/panama/formulario-de-contacto/

13. Stopping the Service

UNHCR may change or stop this WhatsApp information service at any time without prior notice. UNHCR cannot be held responsible for any negative impact or other consequences resulting from these changes or the discontinuation of the service.