by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is promoting the adoption of its Digital Identity Toolkit to enhance stakeholders’ understanding of establishing and implementing digital identity.
This is 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,” reads a document released this week about the recently-launched toolkit.
IOM noted 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.
It added the digitalisation of government services played a crucial role in fostering economic and social development, aiming to include the entire population without leaving anyone behind.
“An individual’s identity within a country is established through legal identity, verified and registered by the responsible authority in the civil registry.”
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.
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.
For migrants, the process, including the secure capture of biographical and biometric data, lays the 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,” the IOM report concluded.
– CAJ News