Attachments
The Digital Identity Toolkit aims to enhance stakeholders’ understanding of establishing and implementing digital identity, with particular attention to human rights, including privacy, security and essential technological considerations. When implementing a digital identity, safeguarding data privacy, preventing discrimination and supporting equitable access to services are crucial. The widespread growth of smartphones presents an opportunity to expand reach, close gaps in service provision in remote areas and enhance the availability and quality of public services.
Digital Identity
The digitalization of government services plays a crucial role in fostering economic and social development, aiming to include the entire population without leaving anybody behind. An individual’s identity within a country is established through legal identity, verified and registered by the responsible authority in the civil registry. Following the registration, proof of legal identity is issued – as a paper or physical card. As electronic government services advance rapidly, the need arises for a secure digital counterpart, or “digital pendant,” to the physical identity document. This digital identity enables secure access to and interaction with government services. In many contexts, digital services help expand the reach and availability of government support, providing 24/7 access and lowering the cost-of-service delivery.
Digital identity connects an individual’s legal identity to the digital realm, providing secure digital proof like the role of a national identity document (ID) card in the physical world. According to the United Nations Legal Identity Agenda, legal identity is defined as “the basic characteristics of an individual’s identity, e.g. name, sex, place and date of birth, conferred through registration and the issuance of a certificate by an authorized civil registration authority following the occurrence of birth. In the absence of birth registration, legal identity may be conferred by a legally recognized identification authority; this system should be linked to the civil registration system to ensure a holistic approach to legal identity from birth to death.1).”
By bridging this foundational legal identity into digital systems, digital identity serves as a secure means for individuals to interact with government services, such as education and tax voter registration, offering a mechanism for verifying and protecting identity across digital applications. Within national legal and social ecosystems, digital identity enhances public service accessibility and security, enabling individuals to access services efficiently and securely. Digital identity can also support cross-border identity management, facilitating international cooperation through bilateral or multilateral agreements within economic or political zones. While beneficial, these agreements introduce additional legal and policy complexities alongside technical challenges.
Beyond the large-scale implementation of general Digital ID systems, simplified Digital ID solutions can offer practical benefits for both citizens and governments. For example, migration management and movement between neighbouring countries can be facilitated through bilateral agreements that allow the use of a mutually recognized digital identity within a free movement zone, eliminating the need for an International Civil Aviation Organizatio (ICAO) compliant travel document. This approach reduces investment and operational costs associated with managing movements within the zone.
Digital identity frameworks vary widely and are often highly customized, with features tailored to specific needs and, at times, complex implementations. The technology driving digital identity is often developed by highly industrialized countries and may not always align with the needs of lower-income nations. A prerequisite for a Digital Identity System (DIS) is the existence of population databases and registration systems capable of processing biometric data, providing a foundation for clearly defining individuals’ identities. The planning and implementation of a digital identity system can, in turn, support improvements in digital population registers and related biometric systems.
To function effectively, a digital identity system requires integration with other applications, which can introduce additional complexity and costs. When implementing such a project, careful planning is essential to balance costs, benefits and operational requirements.
Digital Identity in Migration Contexts
Identity provision is essential, and even more so for vulnerable populations. Reliable identity systems help to safeguard and protect migrant populations, including refugees, internally displaced persons (IDP) and stateless individuals. For many migrants, the absence of a recognized identity document can mean limited access to health care, education, employment and legal protections, exacerbating risks of exclusion and exploitation.
DIS can contribute to addressing these challenges, though barriers remain. Issues such as limited access to technology, gender disparities and discrimination can restrict access to digital identity solutions, particularly among undocumented migrants and individuals in remote areas. Recognizing these realities, this Digital ID Toolkit encourages approaches that acknowledge and aim to mitigate these barriers, ensuring digital identity systems are accessible and inclusive.
For migrants, the registration process – including the secure capture of biographical and biometric data – lays a foundation for inclusion, much like population registration, while accounting for the unique vulnerabilities and needs of mobile populations. This toolkit supports practical strategies for issuing identity documents with digital credentials in physical and/or digital formats, emphasizing that such processes should prioritize a human rights-based approach, addressing inequalities and safeguarding dignity.