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Core Concepts and Processes

When we embarked on this research project, we began with the primary questions of what constitutes a digital identity system. In the last few years, with the rise in national digital identity projects, there has been significant academic and media attention to the idea, benefits and risks of a digital identity system. However, there have been relatively few attempts to critically look at what makes an identity system digital, and what are its defining elements and characteristics. Through a preliminary study of existing identity systems, we have arrived at these core set of concepts and processes that mark a digital identity system. In arriving at this list, we have relied upon and referred to the works by Dave Birch et al, World Bank's ID4D initiative, Mawaki Chango, Kaliya Young and Kayode Ezike.

By publishing this, we hope to arrive at a shared vocabulary to discuss and critically analyse digital identity systems, both within our team and in engagements with other stakeholders. This illustrated and interactive glossary can serve as an easy reference for anyone seeking an introduction to the core aspects of digital identity. Even though this is essentially a list of definitions with examples, it does not follow an alphabetical order like most glossaries, but the logical flow of concepts as they build upon each other in a working identity system. We have paid special emphasis to the core processes of Identification and Authentication, elucidating them through diagrams.

Use the green links under the concept definitions to see how the concept is used in the core processes of Identification and Authentication. Within the process diagrams, use the text in green or the illustrated elements to navigate the document.

Use the green links under the concept definitions to see how the concept is used in the core processes of Identification and Authentication. Within the process diagrams, use the text in green to navigate the document.

Individual

Identity Systems are created in order to provide means of identification to an identified set of population, such as residents, citizens, individuals above a certain age etc. In the context of an Identity System, an individual is someone eligible to enroll within it.

Identity

Identity refers to a set of attributes of an Individual that can be used to identify them individually or as part of a group of individuals.

Identity System

An identity system comprises all the databases, processes, technologies, infrastructure, credentials, and legal frameworks associated with the collection, use, and management of personal identity data for the purpose of identifying individuals.

Foundational Identity System

A foundational identity system is a core Identity System created to manage identity information for the general public, and to provide identity proof for a wide variety of public and private services. National ID systems such as Aadhaar in India or the e-ID scheme in Estonia, and population registries, are common examples of foundational identity systems.

Functional Identity System

A functional identity system is designed to meet the needs of an individual sector, and is not designed for other purposes or in other sectors, although in some cases, may be used for other purposes or in other sectors. For instance, a voter ID can designed specifically for use by the Individual for the purpose of proving their Identity while voting, just as a Tax ID number (or registration number) is designed for use while dealing with tax related matters. The National Health Service in the UK has its own digital Identity System to identify patients and keep records of their treatment.

Unique Identity System

A unique identity system is one that uniquely identifies individuals within a population, such that no one person may enrol multiple times in the system, and that each Identity Artifact is associated with only one person. For instance, the Aadhaar scheme in India has ensured that each Unique Identification Number in the system is only associated with one individual, through the process of de-duplication.

Centralised Identity System

A centralised identity system is one in which there is a single recognised agency or body, which is tasked as the issuer of identity. The e-ID system in Estonia or the NADRA in Pakistan, for instance, entails one government agency responsible for providing identification and authentication services for individuals, without the Individual being able to choose which entity to enroll with.

Federated Identity System

Under a Federated Identity System, multiple digital ID providers, who may be public or private, are endorsed by the Identity System. Here, individuals can choose between these digital providers, and use the issued credentials for a wide range of services through an identity hub or a gateway that facilitates authentication across multiple platforms.

In a Brokered Identity Provider model, identification and authentication are carried out by multiple digital ID providers, but with the additional presence of a central hub through which data is exchanged. An example of this is the Gov.UK Verify ID system in the UK, which allows individuals to choose between several different certified private identity providers to access a range of public and private services.

Open Market Identity System

In an open market system, public and private organizations create, use, and manage their own digital identities according to a self-regulated framework. Here, there is no central scheme, and the digital identities can be used to access government services only where there are agreements between the government agency and the identity services provider.

Self Sovereign Identity System

In a self sovereign identity system, each Individual or entity can be empowered to create unique, digital and portable identities on their own which can rely on decentralised technologies such as shared ledgers for use, but do not rely on any centralised authority, rendering them irrevocable by any third party.

Interoperability

Interoperability is the ability of different functional units-e.g., systems, databases, devices, or applications-to communicate, execute programs, or transfer data in a manner that requires the user to have little or no knowledge of those functional units. An interoperable system is one whose interfaces are understood, to work with other products or systems, present or future, without restrictions.

Identification

Identification is the process of establishing the digital identity of an Individual and ascertaining information about them, by verifying corroborating documents, testaments, and other forms of proof of the Individual's claimed Identities and Attributes. In the context of a digital ID System, this may involve individuals first claiming certain Attributes (such as their name, sex, date of birth etc) and having them recorded, then presenting requisite documents or testaments to validate their Identity Claim. Finally, they are issued certain credentials (such as PINs, ID Cards etc) or their Attributes are accorded the status of ID credentials (such as biometrics) which can be digitally used to control or assert the established digital ID.

Verification

Verification is the process followed during Identification to check the Identity Claims of an Individual, and ensure that they are the true owner of the claimed Identity and the related evidence/documents. This could include inspecting breeder documents such as a birth certificate to verify the date of birth claimed by the entity, or examining a photo ID card to verify other attributes of appearance, name, sex, etc., by the enrolling agent during the Identification process.

Deduplication

Deduplication is a process undertaken during Identification in some Identity Systems to establish the uniqueness of individuals. It typically involves digitally comparing biographic or biometric data submitted by Individuals against previously enrolled records to determine if there is already a record of the Individual.

Identity Assurance

Identity assurance is the ability to determine, with some level of certainty or assurance, that a claim to a particular identity made by an Individual can be trusted to actually be the claimant's true identity. The mapping of this assurance in terms of its overall level, derived from both the quality of the identification process and the strength of the authentication credential used when asserting the identity, is termed its Level of Assurance (LOA).

Seeding

Seeding is the mapping of identity records in an existing database with those in another database, typically through a unique identifier. For instance, in India, Aadhaar numbers of residents are being seeded into the service delivery database of public and private service providers.

Authentication

Authentication is the process of establishing confidence that an Individual is who they claim to be. This involves using an Identity Credential, that was bound to the Identity during the process of Identification (such as fingerprints, a password, a smartcard, etc) to assert that it is within the control of the Individual whose identity is being asserted. This is done through a process established within the Identity System to digitally check the Identity Credential usually against the Identity Artifact.

The Individual uses their Identity Credential to authenticate themselves, often using the digital interface of the Relying Party.

Various relying parties depend on the Identity System to verify the identity of the individual.

If authentication is successful, the relying party permits the individual to carry out the intended activity of transaction using their digital identity.

themselves, often using the digital interface to verify the identity of the individual. If authentication is successful, relying party permits the individual to carry out the intended activity of transaction using their digital identity.

Knowledge Factors

In some Identity Systems, the process of authentication is carried by testing for information that the Individual is expected to know. These include Identity Credentials such as passwords and PINs.

Possession Factors

In some Identity Systems, the process of Authentication is carried out through the use of an object that is supposed to be in the possession and control of the Individual. It includes a card, or mobile phone on which they receive an OTP, or a token device on which they receive a code.

Inherence Factors

These factors rely on the use of physical attributes of the Individual that are digitally measurable for Authentication such as fingerprints, iris scans, facial recognition etc.

Behavioral Factors

These factors rely on measurements of behavioral aspects of an individual such as gait, voice patterns for Authentication.

Multi-Factor Authentication

A system workflow that requires more than one factor for the Authentication of the Individual. In Estonia, the use of both the card and PIN is an example of multi-factor authentication.

Relying Party

A relying party is an entity that uses the Authentication mechanism provided by an Identity System to verify the Identity of an Individual, in order to process a transaction or grant access to a system, or information, or a service. Based on the nature and purpose of the Identity System, relying parties can be both government bodies or private actors.

Banks, Telecom Service Providers, Hospitals

Authorisation

Authorisation is the act of the Individual determining what actions may be performed on their behalf, or if their personal data may be accessed, based on the asserted and authenticated Identity. The process of authorisation involves the use of the digital identity to undertake activities and transactions (both financial and otherwise). It is this aspect of digital identity which leads to both its oft-mentioned benefits such as ease of doing business, cost effectiveness and speedy transactions; as well as its prominent risks such as profiling, digital trail connecting disparate activities and discriminatory effects.

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Core Concepts and Processes When we embarked on this research project, we began with the primary questions of what constitutes a digital identity system. In the last few years, with the rise in national digital identity projects, there has been significant academic and media attention to the idea, benefits and risks of a digital identity system.

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The focus of this Guide is on ID systems that provide proof of legal identity that is often required for-or simplifies the process of-accessing basic rights, services, opportunities, and protections. Historically, governments have operated a variety of ID systems to serve this and other purposes. Primarily, this includes foundational ID systems, such as civil registers, national IDs and population registers, which are created to provide identification to the general population for a wide variety of transactions. An ID system can be considered legal ID system to the extent that it enables a person to prove who they are using credentials recognized by law or regulation as proof of legal identity-i.e., most foundational ID systems (see Box 4).

In addition, governments have often created a variety of functional ID systems to manage identification, authentication, and authorization for specific sectors or use-cases, such as voting, taxation, social protection, travel, and more. In some countries-and particularly those that do not have a foundational ID system beyond civil registration-functional identity credentials are used as de facto proof of identity for purposes beyond their original scope. In the United States, for example, social security numbers and driver's licenses in the United States are issues as proof of authorization for specific purposes but are used as general-purpose credentials. However, functional ID systems are typically not considered to be legal ID systems unless they are officially recognized as serving this purpose.

Box 4. Defining "proof of legal identity"

Proof of legal identity is defined as a credential, such as birth certificate, identity card or digital identity credential that is recognized as proof of legal identity under national law and in accordance with emerging international norms and principles.

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. Legal identity is retired by the issuance of a death certificate by the civil registration authority upon registration of death.

In the case of refugees, Member States are primarily responsible for issuing proof of legal identity, including identity papers. The issuance of proof of legal identity to refugees may also be administered by an internationally recognized and mandated authority ( 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees Articles 25 and 27).

Source: United Nations Legal Identity Expert Group (LIEG) and World Bank Operational Definition of Legal Identity, 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees.

As shown in Figure 4, both foundational and functional ID systems vary along multiple dimensions, including:

Figure 4. Classification of government ID systems

In terms of technology, these ID systems can be paper-based or digitized. Digital ID systems are those that use digital technology throughout the identity lifecycle, including for data capture, validation, storage, and transfer; credential management; and identity verification and authentication. Although the term "digital ID" often connotes identity credentials used for web-based or virtual transactions (e.g., for logging into an e-service portal), digital IDs can also be used for stronger in-person (and offline) authentication.

In addition, these ID systems may or may not uniquely identify individuals within a given population. Uniqueness typically means that (a) one person does not claim multiple identities within the system, and (b) each identity is only claimed by one person. In general, most foundational and functional ID systems are intended to be unique. However, some may have less reliable identity records due to a lack of deduplication, non-unique identifier generation (e.g., recycling ID numbers over time), or weak identity proofing procedures. In other cases, allowing for multiple registration may be a feature of the ID system functionality. For example, the same person can enroll multiple times in the UK's Verify system, because its focus is on proof of identity, with any issues of uniqueness handled by the relying party, as described in Box 38.

Finally, these ID systems also vary based on the population that they are intended to cover. Because the purpose of foundational systems has been to provide broad (or universal, in the case of CR) coverage within the population, they are typically more inclusive in scope than functional systems, which-by their nature-are often limited to a certain subset of the population (e.g., people eligible to vote, beneficiaries of a cash transfer, people who have passed a driver's test, etc.). In some cases, however, functional ID systems have relatively broad coverage because their program is intended to be universal (e.g., the US social security number). Similarly, not all foundational ID systems cover the entire population. For example, a country's civil registry only covers vital events that occur within the territory, and therefore does not cover migrants or (in some cases) nationals born abroad. Similarly, some national ID systems only cover nationals, foreign residents with a valid visa, and/or people over age 18. In contrast other countries have implemented inclusive foundational ID systems that are accessible to all people within a territory or jurisdiction.

Within a given jurisdiction, there are normally many government and private-sector ID systems that together make up the identity ecosystem. As ID systems become digital, these ecosystems may be increasingly complex, with a wide range of identity models and actors with diverse responsibilities, interests, and priorities. The particular path that a country takes to develop a digital identity ecosystem will depend on a variety of factors, including which ID systems and assets already exist, and the identity-related needs of key stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.

Role of a foundational ID system

The focus of this Guide is on the design and implementation of foundational, digital ID systems that provide people with proof of legal identity. As shown in Figure 5, inclusive and trusted foundational ID systems can serve two important functions within the identity ecosystem and across a variety of sectors:

1. Authoritative source(s) of basic identity information. By creating a register of unique, verified identities, a foundational ID system can provide the basis for secure identity verification for government and private-sector users. In any country, having one or more trusted sources of basic identity information is vital to the integrity of the identity proofing process for government functional ID systems and for private-sector ID providers and relying parties (e.g., financial institutions or MNOs conducting KYC). Beyond the verification of identity attributes themselves, a foundational system with unique identity records can also help deduplicate functional systems-e.g., a cash transfer register or public payroll-reducing opportunities for fraud and the need for redundant data collection by the foundational system (see Public Sector Savings paper).

2. Credential and authentication provider. In addition to establishing an authoritative source of identity information that can be leveraged by other systems, foundational ID systems can also provide credentials that allow people to authenticate their identities for a wide variety of purposes and sectors. As with verification, authentication can be a shared service provided to a variety of public and private sector users. When built as a platform that allows users to leverage the ID systems' credentials and authentication rather that building their own, this can help reduce costs for government agencies and private companies (See Private Sector Savings paper).

As described in more detail in the Introduction, having one or more interoperable foundational ID systems that serve these functions can improve access and service delivery across a variety of sectors, including health, education, social protection, financial inclusion, etc.
Figure 5. Potential role of a foundational ID system
Source: Adapted from Digital Identity Toolkit

In order further these development goals, however, foundational ID systems must be inclusive, and they must be trusted. In accordance with SDG 16.9 and the Principles for Identification, all people must have access to proof of their legal identity, no matter their age, nationality, or where they were born. CR systems are an important part of this infrastructure and provide the authoritative source of certain attributes as they were at the time of birth or death (i.e., at the moment births or deaths were registered) assuming that they were accurately recorded. Some of this information (e.g., name, legal guardians, and sex) could change over a person's lifetime, while other attributes (e.g., date and place of birth or death, and birth parent's identities) are immutable. However, CR systems are not dynamic registers of identity data, and-because they only cover events that occurred within the jurisdiction-they cannot be an authoritative source of information for people who were born elsewhere or who never had their vital events registered.

Providing legal identity for all therefore requires the strengthening of CR systems alongside-and in coordination with-the development of ID systems that can leverage and build on the CR while adding functionality (e.g., identity proofing, online verification and authentication services, portable credentials, etc.). In addition-and as enshrined in Principles 1 and 2, countries must ensure that everyone has access to foundational ID system, regardless of who they are. This requires a conscious and continuous efforts to remove or mitigate barriers to accessing proof of identity that are common among vulnerable populations.

In addition, foundational ID systems will only achieve the benefits described above when they are trusted-both by people and the institutions and companies that rely on them. Where people do not trust the provider of an ID system to manage and protect their data, they are unlikely to participate. Systems with low coverage have limited utility for governments or people and will necessitate parallel business processes to deal with people who are and are not covered. Similarly, where the data or credentials provided by an ID system are known or perceived to be inaccurate or susceptible to fraud or tampering, service providers will not be able to take this information at face value. Effective public engagement, robust legal frameworks, and a privacy-and-security-by-design approach are therefore fundamental to ensuring the overall success of the system.

New models for foundational ID in a digital world

In the past, most foundational (and functional) ID systems were paper-based and operated or managed entirely by governments. With the move toward digital technology throughout the identity lifecycle, however, we have begun to see new models of partnerships or trust frameworks between governments and the private sector to provide digital layers on top of existing legal ID systems that are recognized by the government for official online transactions. Typically, these systems leverage existing government-owned identity registers as authoritative sources of information to provide digital authentication and verification services for both official purposes and private sector applications.

A number of authors-notably from ITU (2018) and WEF (2016)-have developed typologies to categorize these new digital ID ecosystem models, typically based on the role of the private sector in providing digital identities, and the structure of these arrangements (e.g., federation). For the purpose of this Guide, it is also important to distinguish an additional dimension beyond the number and type of digital ID (i.e., credential and authentication providers), which is the type of authoritative source(s) these digital ID use for identity proofing. Using these dimensions, we can classify various models used to provide people with government-recognized or legal identity in a digital form:

Centralized: Under the centralized model, there is a single provider for a digital ID system recognized by the government as providing proof of legal identity.

In some cases, this may be the same entity that maintains the authoritative source register (e.g., a national ID or population register) on which the digital ID is based (e.g., Belgium's eCard, Netherlands' DigiD, India's Aadhaar, and many others).

In other cases-i.e., where there is no foundational ID system-the official digital ID may be provided by an entity that relies on multiple functional or lower-tiered government ID systems as authoritative sources for identity proofing (e.g., the current myGovID system in Australia).

Federated: Under a federated model, multiple entities provide a government-recognized digital ID, coordinated or accredited through a trust framework or federation authority.

In some cases, these identity providers are public and/or private entities and that leverage a foundational ID system as their authoritative source (e.g., Bank ID in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, NemID in Denmark, Belgium's Itsme®)

In others, they draw from multiple functional systems as well as civil registers through a "broker" or federation authority (e.g., GOV.UK Verify, Canada's SecureKey).

Open-market: Finally, countries could have multiple, regulated entities that provide government-recognized digital ID based on multiple functional IDs and or civil registers as authoritative sources of identity. In contrast to the federated system, however, these providers operate based on bilateral agreements with individual government agencies that provide online services rather than through a central or brokered scheme (e.g., U.S.).

In addition to the government-recognized forms of digital identity discussed above, countries may have a host of other digital ID systems maintained by public or (primarily) private sector entities for their internal use and for unofficial purposes. This might include, for example, private-sector-provided IDs that are derived directly from the government-recognized authoritative sources or digital IDs described above, issued after identity proofing based on non-governmental sources, or self-asserted (e.g., social media, email accounts, commercial platforms, etc.). In addition, there are emerging models of decentralized or distributed-ledger-based digital identity that seek to put people-rather than ID authorities, providers or relying parties-in control and at the center of identity transactions. However, distributed digital identity solutions typically rely on official data sources (i.e., foundational and/or functional government systems) to substantiate basic identity attributes in the first instance. To our knowledge, such models have not yet been accepted as legal proof of identity for use in official (online or in-person) transactions.

Importantly, different models of digital ID can exist within the same jurisdiction-in Belgium, for example, people can log-in to online government services using either the centrally-provided eCard, or the Itsme® digital ID (the first certified credential provider in an emerging federated scheme). This can improve people's control over their digital identities by offering them a choice of providers (and the ability to switch to more trusted or user-friendly services as needed).

The ideal model of providing a digital, government-recognized ID system is very country-specific, and depends on the country's historical development, the trustworthiness of existing registers and other authoritative sources of identity information.

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Types of ID systems The focus of this Guide is on ID systems that provide proof of legal identity that is often required for-or simplifies the process of-accessing basic rights, services, opportunities, and protections. Historically, governments have operated a variety of ID systems to serve this and other purposes.

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"Escóssia entendeu que a exclusão documental brasileira tem causas estruturais, que começam na falta de integração dos sistemas burocráticos, como os cartórios, que realizam as certidões de nascimento, e as secretarias estaduais de Segurança Pública, responsáveis pelo RG e CPF. Outras causas são o abandono paterno, quase endêmico no país, racismo e machismo."

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Quase três milhões de brasileiros não têm nem sequer certidão de nascimento, segundo o IBGE. O assunto foi tema do Enem, com base no livro da jornalista Fernanda da Escóssia. Projeto Justiça Itinerante atende indocumentados que veem a vida mudar

Adriana, de 22 anos, procurou o ônibus da Justiça Itinerante para tentar fazer seu registro civil. J. Martinez

Adriana tem 22 anos, mas ainda não nasceu. Não oficialmente. A jovem carioca, negra, magra, com postura de bailarina e sobrancelhas bem marcadas nunca teve uma certidão de nascimento. Tampouco um RG, carteira de trabalho, CPF ou qualquer outro documento. "Eu nem no mundo existo", diz ela, com voz baixa, quase inaudível. Sem jamais ter conhecido sua progenitora, Adriana foi criada por Mônica, com quem seu pai passou a viver quando ela tinha cinco anos. Depois que o homem abandonou a família, foi a madrasta quem descobriu que a menina nunca teve um registro e iniciou uma odisseia que já dura anos para conseguir os papéis que atestem que Adriana, viva e de carne e osso, é uma cidadã brasileira. "A vida dela é parada, não pode fazer um curso, não pode ter um trabalho formal, não pode fazer nada", diz Mônica, de 46 anos, com tom de revolta.

Adriana é uma das cerca de três milhões de pessoas no país que não possuem nenhum tipo de registro civil, como certidão de nascimento, de acordo com estimativa do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Em uma sociedade rasgada pela desigualdade social que se materializa na fome e na miséria nas ruas, a ausência de pedaços de papel que atestem um mínimo de dignidade não aparece com frequência no debate público, mas o assunto ganhou relevância ao aparecer como tema da redação do Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem), na prova do dia 21 de novembro. Sob a proposta "Invisibilidade e registro civil: garantia de acesso à cidadania no Brasil", aqueles que prestaram o exame foram provocados a escrever sobre o assunto.

Sem um RG e um CPF, um brasileiro não consegue se matricular numa escola, não tem acesso a benefícios sociais do Governo, não pode ir ao sistema público de saúde fazer consultas. Como diz o título da redação do Enem, um indocumentado não é cidadão, não pode aspirar a evoluir na vida.

Adriana conseguiu estudar e concluir o Ensino Médio graças à insistência de Mônica, que convenceu uma escola particular, "mas barata", no bairro periférico onde moram a matriculá-la. "E dei sorte de que ela foi uma criança saudável, nunca precisou ir no médico, porque senão não sei como teríamos feito", conta a mulher. Este ano, no entanto, a jovem teve que contar com a intervenção de uma assistente social para conseguir tomar as doses da vacina contra a covid-19. "Fomos em vários postos de saúde e nenhum queria vaciná-la porque ela não tem identidade", diz Mônica.

Ambas conversaram com o EL PAÍS na última sexta-feira, no pátio da Vara da Infância, da Juventude e do Idoso, no Rio de Janeiro, em frente ao ônibus azul e branco do Tribunal de Justiça do Rio de Janeiro estacionado no local, onde seis funcionários da Defensoria Pública, quatro assistentes sociais e três juízas atendem, das 9h às 15h, dezenas de pessoas que vão em busca de um documento que comprove sua existência. Adriana e Mônica, que quer adotá-la e dar à jovem seu sobrenome, chegaram às seis da manhã em sua quarta ida ao local e, mais uma vez, saíram desanimadas. Como elas não têm nenhum documento dos pais biológicos da moça, a Justiça determinou uma busca pelo registro civil paterno para regularizar sua situação.

"Às vezes dá vontade de desistir, mas precisamos garantir os direitos dela", confessa Mônica. "Eu fico muito confusa com isso, dá um desânimo grande", diz Adriana, sempre cabisbaixa, quase sempre monossilábica. Ela desvia dos olhos de seus interlocutores. Tímida, mesmo quando aceita fazer um retrato para a reportagem, custa a mirar a câmera. Quando esboça um primeiro sorriso, institivamente fecha o olhos e se afasta do foco. A vergonha é um sentimento recorrente entre as pessoas indocumentadas, diz a juíza Raquel Chrispino, que há 15 anos trabalha com essa população e é coordenadora do programa de Erradicação do Sub-Registro do Tribunal de Justiça do Rio de Janeiro. "A pessoa se sente culpada por não ter documentos, é como se ela fosse um ser humano de quinta categoria." Chrispino, que apresentou na semana passada sua dissertação de mestrado sobre o tema, explica que, sem o registro civil, crianças e adultos têm dificuldade de acesso à educação e à saúde. Sem um número de CPF, que é porta de acesso aos benefícios sociais, foi impossível para esses brasileiros conseguirem, por exemplo, o auxílio emergencial oferecido pelo Governo durante a pandemia de covid-19. "Quem precisa não consegue nem remédios controlados oferecidos pelo SUS [Sistema Único de Saúde], o atendimento de saúde é sempre emergencial. Nesses anos todos, perdi a conta de quantas pessoas cegas eu atendi. Idosos com catarata que não conseguiram fazer a cirurgia por não ter registro", conta a juíza, que tornou-se quase uma ativista contra o sub-registro, a proporção de pessoas sem certidão de nascimento.

Chrispino foi uma das principais fontes da jornalista Fernanda da Escóssia, que desde 2003 acompanha histórias de indocumentados e é autora do livro Invisíveis: uma etnografia sobe brasileiros sem documentos (Ed. FGV), citado como um dos textos de apoio na redação do Enem. Durante três anos, ela acompanhou as jornadas no ônibus do pátio da Praça Onze de Junho e contou vivências de pessoas que não conseguiram realizar cirurgias para tratar câncer ou cujas famílias têm até três gerações de indivíduos sem registro civil. "Muitas delas me diziam que se sentiam como cachorros, falam de si como não pessoa s, porque quem não tem documentos está excluído do mundo dos direitos", diz.

Durante sua pesquisa -o livro é uma adaptação de sua tese de doutorado-, Escóssia entendeu que a exclusão documental brasileira tem causas estruturais, que começam na falta de integração dos sistemas burocráticos, como os cartórios, que realizam as certidões de nascimento, e as secretarias estaduais de Segurança Pública, responsáveis pelo RG e CPF. Outras causas são o abandono paterno, quase endêmico no país, racismo e machismo. "Conheci uma mulher que não foi registrada porque o pai disse que não tinha filha 'muito preta' e outra cujo progenitor só registrava os filhos homens, porque 'mulher não precisa disso'", relata.

Antônio Gecínio de Lima, de 69 anos, precisa do registro civil para conseguir a aposentadoria. J. Martinez

Nos 20 anos em que trabalha com o tema, a jornalista viu o Brasil reduzir, de 20,3% (em 2002) para 2,1% (em 2019), o sub-registro de crianças, um número que, segundo estudos internacionais, é resultado, em parte, da implementação de programas de transferência de renda, como o Bolsa Família, que passaram a exigir que todos os beneficiários fossem documentados. Mas além além do problema de quem nunca foi registrado está a chamada segunda via inacessível, quando alguém perde a primeira via do documento, em uma enchente, incêndio doméstico ou mudança e tem que enfrentar uma barreira de obstáculos e custos monetários para conseguir uma nova.

É o caso de Antônio Gecínio de Lima, de 69 anos, que saiu de Natal (RN) aos 16, rumo ao Rio de Janeiro, "sem lenço e sem documento". Na sexta-feira, sem saber se foi registrado na cidade em que nasceu, subiu ao ônibus pela primeira vez para saber como pode se aposentar. "Eu nunca estudei e sempre me virei para trabalhar, mas nunca tive nada [formal]. Nunca casei, mas tenho dois filhos que não podem ter meu nome no registro porque não tenho documento", conta o homem de pele curtida pelo sol, cabelos ondulados que caem sobre os ombros e um bigode igualmente grisalho.

No começo de sua peregrinação por uma identidade burocrática, ele conta com a ajuda da amiga Paola dos Santos: "Ele vive em estado de total abandono, sozinho, e não pode ter nenhum benefício social." Ambos saíram da audiência com a juíza com a solicitação de busca de registro civil nos cartórios de Natal e região metropolitana, o primeiro passo é descobrir se, em algum momento, o nascimento de Antônio teria sido registrado entre os anos de 1950 e 1954. Por trás da máscara que cobre seu rosto, ele sorri, esperançoso: "Tomara que dê certo!"

Luis Gustavo, que acredita ter 37 anos, vive uma situação mais complicada. Sabe que chegou ao Rio de Janeiro aos três anos, mas não tem certeza se nasceu em São Benedito, cidade do Ceará de onde seria sua família. Vivendo em situação de rua há sete meses, depois de ficar sem condições de pagar os abrigos onde geralmente dormia, ele procurou o serviço da Justiça Itinerante depois de ser abordado por um policial que, ao saber que não tinha documentos, deu-lhe o endereço da Praça Onze de Junho. "Um conhecido me ofereceu trabalho como entregador de água, mas, para trabalhar, preciso ter pelo menos uma identidade, né?", diz, com olhar desanimado, diante da assistente social que o atende. A Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro estima que há entre 8.000 e 10.000 pessoas vivendo nas ruas da cidade. "Um percentual grande delas diz que não sai das ruas porque não tem documento", afirma Raquel Chrispino.

Assim como Adriana, Luis Gustavo carrega a vergonha dos que não se sentem gente de direito. Trajando uma calça jeans, chinelos e uma camisa da seleção brasileira, todos igualmente gastos, ele olha para o chão enquanto fala: "Eu não tenho vergonha de morar na rua, mas nunca conheci ninguém aqui porque é como se eu não fosse cidadão. Se eu não tenho nem um papel com meu nome, não tenho nada."

Soluções

Ônibus da Justiça Itinerante estacionado no Pátio da Vara da Infância, da Juventude e do Idoso, no centro do Rio de Janeiro, atende pessoas que não têm certidão de nascimento. J. Martinez

As cerca de 35 pessoas que esperaram e foram atendidas na sexta-feira eram todas pardas ou negras (assim se identificaram perante as assistentes sociais) e, a julgar pelos trajes e por seus próprios relatos, todas "pobres ou muito pobres", como escreve Fernanda da Escóssia em seu livro. A exclusão documental, afinal, reflete quase todos os aspectos da desigualdade social brasileira. Também são negros Rogério de Oliveira, eletricista de 54 anos, e seu filho Wiliam, de 27, que fizeram o ônibus chacoalhar ao subir para a audiência com uma das juízas. Era a primeira vez que estavam ali, porque Rogério descobriu que o rapaz jamais havia sido registrado. "Eu tive um relacionamento conturbado com a mãe dele, nos separamos, mas sempre fui presente. Como entreguei meus papéis para ela e ela disse que o menino tinha certidão [de nascimento], achei que estava tudo certo", conta o pai. Depois de saber que o jovem "tinha se metido com coisas erradas", Rogério quis que ele voltasse a estudar e trabalhar e, só então, descobriu que o filho não tinha documentos. "Nunca desconfiei porque eu sempre matriculei ele nas escolinhas particulares do bairro, dava o nome e pronto", se justifica.

De acordo com a juíza Raquel Chrispino, situações como a de Wiliam e dos outros milhões de brasileiros indocumentados poderiam ser evitadas com a integração de políticas de documentação. "As secretarias de segurança pública dos Estados não se comunicam entre si nessa cadeia documental. Precisamos integrar as bases de dados e a oferta de serviço aos cidadãos, para combater a 'síndrome do balcão'", diz ela, referindo-se à peregrinação que muita gente faz a incontáveis balcões de serviços públicos para fazer seus registros civis, sempre ouvindo "não" até chegar ao local adequado.

"Ninguém acredita que essas pessoas existem, mas elas existem aos milhões. Das 42.000 pessoas privadas de liberdade no Rio de Janeiro, 3.000 não possuem identidade civil no Estado", continua Chrispino, em tom de voz indignado, ao comentar sobre a população carcerária com a qual ela também trabalha diretamente.

Além da integração dos sistemas de registro (cartórios) e de identidade (feita pelos Estados através das secretarias de Segurança ou órgãos como o Detran - Departamento de Trânsito), Fernanda da Escóssia diz que é preciso fortaleceros comitês de combate ao sub-registro. "É preciso que a estrutura burocrática estatal seja menos insensível a esse problema. Escolas e centros de saúde, por exemplo, poderiam e deveriam atuar como polos de encaminhamento ativo dessas pessoas ao identificar a falta de documentação", propõe. As especialistas concordam que, além de facilitar a vida dos brasileiros ao garantir-lhes o acesso a um direito básico, quiçá o primordial, essas medidas gerariam economia aos cofres públicos. "Infelizmente, o Estado Brasileiro não vê a questão como uma política estratégica", lamenta Chrispino.
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Enquanto a situação não muda, a jornada de Wiliam teve um início feliz. Ele saiu do ônibus direto para o cartório, em frente ao pátio da praça, onde segurou, pela primeira vez, sua certidão de nascimento. E é apenas o começo, pois, junto com papel, carregado como um tesouro, levava uma lista cuidadosamente escrita à mão com a sequência de outros sete documentos que finalmente pode obter, do RG à carteira de trabalho. "Estou feliz demais, é um alívio!", disse. E nem toda a timidez do mundo foi capaz de esconder o semblante de euforia de quem se sente gente pela primeira vez.

Mais informações

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Invisíveis no Brasil, sem documento e dignidade: "Eu nem no mundo existo"

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Quase três milhões de brasileiros não têm nem sequer certidão de nascimento, segundo o IBGE. O assunto foi tema do Enem, com base no livro da jornalista Fernanda da Escóssia. Projeto Justiça Itinerante atende indocumentados que veem a vida mudar

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There are about 3 million Brazilians who do not have a civil register of birth due to late registration or a lack of successful system in the area. (Norte)

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A invisibilidade e registro civil, tema da redação do Enem 2021, levantou o debate social sobre a importância da emissão da certidão de nascimento, com a qual o cidadão passa a ter nome, sobrenome, nacionalidade, filiação e direitos básicos garantidos, como à saúde e à educação.

Segundo o IBGE, cerca de 3 milhões de brasileiros não possuem registro civil de nascimento. Desde 2015, o instituto acompanha a estimativa de crianças que não receberam certidão de nascimento no primeiro ano de vida. As diferenças regionais são evidentes: no Sul, 0,28% da população não tem registro civil; no Sudeste, 1,1%; Centro-Oeste, 1,23%; Nordeste, 2,5% e no Norte, 7,5%. Os dados são de 2019.

O presidente da Arpen, Associação Nacional dos Registradores de Pessoas Naturais, Gustavo Fiscarelli, explica que o registro civil de nascimento precisa ser realizado pelos pais ou responsável legal no prazo de 15 dias a contar do nascimento da criança. A DNV, Declaração de Nascido Vivo, expedida pelo hospital, é o documento que os pais devem levar ao cartório competente junto com os documentos pessoais de identificação.

Gustavo Fiscarelli explica que o pedido de registro tardio de nascimento pode ser realizado pelos responsáveis, pela criança ou pelo próprio registrando, se ele for maior de idade. Em alguns casos, como para registrando incapaz e sem representantes legais, a solicitação pode precisar ser levada à esfera judicial. O advogado Mauro Pereira conta que o registro tardio de Maria Vaneide, de 57 anos, moradora de Cristalina, Goiás, foi resolvido em 90 dias.

Sobre o índice ainda alto de brasileiros sem certidão de nascimento, Gustavo Fiscarelli, da Arpen, destaca algumas causas levantadas por pesquisa recente coordenada pelo CNJ, Conselho Nacional de Justiça, junto aos registradores civis.

Fatores como desinformação, alto índice de analfabetismo e comunidades isoladas também aparecem no levantamento do CNJ. O presidente da Arpen lembra que o fato de não haver um pai registral não é motivo de recusa ao registro de nascimento. Nesses casos, o registro é lavrado com a indicação da mãe e ela pode indicar o suposto pai, que será intimado para procedimentos legais. Gustavo Fiscarelli lembra que o reconhecimento de paternidade pode ser feito em qualquer tempo, diretamente no cartório, e de forma gratuita.

Edição: Raquel Mariano/Edgard Matsuki

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3 milhões de brasileiros não têm registro civil de nascimento

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A invisibilidade e registro civil, tema da redação do Enem 2021, levantou o debate social sobre a importância da emissão da certidão de nascimento, com a qual o cidadão passa a ter nome, sobrenome, nacionalidade, filiação e direitos básicos garantidos, como à saúde e à educação.

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Globally, an estimated 1 billion people cannot officially prove their identity and 47% of those are children without a birth certificate.

Birth registration is an essential child right and a critical tool for effective protection from child labour, child marriage, sexual exploitation, and trafficking. Since 2012 HDF has supported Plan International to deliver birth registration to children in Sierra Leone and Liberia - nearly 1 million children have been registered in both countries. However, the global need remains vast.

Birth registration provides formal recognition by a state of a child's birth and is a permanent and official record of a child's existence ( Every Child's Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth registration, UNICEF, 2013). The right to birth registration is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that "every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name and a nationality'. More recently the importance of the right to birth registration has been recognised in SDG 16.9, which aims to "provide legal identity to all, including birth registration, by 2030."

In the past 10 years there has been an overall increase in global birth registration rates of children under five from 58% to 65%, however more than 100 countries still do not have well-functioning CRVS (Civil Registration and Vital Statistic) systems in place to register key life events ( WHO, World Bank Group 2014).

New approaches are required to overcome current challenges and make the large improvements required to achieve universal birth registration. There is an urgent need for innovation.

Plan International´s Birth Registration Innovation Team are bringing 6 key principles of innovation to this challenge. They have developed a tailored innovation process to create sustainable and scalable solutions for birth registration.

Understand Contextual Constraints: What differentiates constraints from pain points, is that they are usually intractable in at least the short to medium term. To make rapid progress, solutions need to be identified which can operate within, or in spite of, these contextual constraints.

Challenge Orthodoxies: The ability to solve problems is often restricted by assuming that long-held beliefs cannot change. Challenging orthodoxies enables the problem and potential solutions to be seen from a different angle, potentially leading to truly disruptive innovation.

Identify technology enablers and trends: Mobile technologies have already become a go-to tool to increase the accessibility of birth registration services in low-resource settings. Beyond this, there is a new wave of technologies that should be explored in order to achieve universal registration.

Get inspiration from other sectors: Looking to other sectors e.g. private and government, to search for ready-made solutions that are already solving similar functional problems is an important and cost-effective approach to innovation.

Partner for impact: Innovation demands operating beyond core competencies and challenging belief-systems. Partnering with a range of stakeholders who complement existing skills and expertise will therefore maximise innovation capability.

Fail fast and learn pivot: Aim to test ideas and hypotheses as quickly as possible and accept that failure is inevitable. Learn fast from the experience of failure, adapt the solution or approach, and test it again. The key to success is being willing and able to "pivot".
READ AT PLAN-INTERNATIONAL.ORG

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Why is birth registration so important? - The Human Dignity Foundation

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Globally, an estimated 1 billion people cannot officially prove their identity and 47% of those are children without a birth certificate. Birth registration is an essential child right and a critical tool for effective protection from child labour, child marriage, sexual exploitation, and trafficking.

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Let me start with a frank confession: I am a passionate believer in the potential of technology as we make sustainable development and inclusive societies a reality.

My faith in technology's potential is grounded in solid evidence and personal experience. My generation witnessed how mobile phones, for instance, profoundly changed the daily lives of billions of poor people within a single generation in both developing and developed countries.

Cognitive computing, blockchain, robotics, the Internet of Things and all things 'smart' and 'digital' hold great promise as new, potentially disruptive, technologies which are likely to have the same profound impact on development.

Nanotechnology, 3D and 4D printing, virtual, augmented and mixed reality, sophisticated digital assistants, autonomous vehicles, and cutting-edge genetic technologies - the list of technological megatrends just keeps growing at an unprecedented pace in what is now often referred to as "the 4th industrial revolution".

Over the next ten years, artificial intelligence is expected to be the most disruptive of technologies due to the enormous computational power deployed, amounts of data collected, and advances in deep neural networks. This presents us with unprecedented potential in problem-solving and harnessing data to tackle the targets under our 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, agreed by UN member states in 2015.

It is important to note that, as a promoter of innovation, and often as the innovator itself, government has been a key actor in technological progress. Research has highlighted how it was "public funding that drove both the IT revolution and other fields such as bio- and nano-technologies and today's green technologies." Where Governments decide to put support and create conducive policy and legal frameworks, they can continue to foster tremendous innovation for positive change.

Between Governments and the international community, we need to keep an informed conversation going, understand the interplay between technology and sustainability, and stand together to maximise the good that technology can bring.

I am therefore convinced that the judicious use of technology will be a key accelerator and enabler for many, perhaps all, of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals - the SDGs.

Indeed, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises that "the spread of information and communication technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies".

Technology is explicitly referred to in Goal 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure). Its target 5, for example, calls for the international community to: 'Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.'
Various other SDG targets have a significant technology component.
For example, there are benefits of digital technologies and services in health (SDG 3): e health applications can provide the opportunity for rural patients to benefit from remote diagnosis and improve their adherence to treatment. Innovation in low-cost health technologies, such as neonatal incubators or solar-powered vaccine refrigerators, can save lives in resource-constrained settings.

But perhaps the most interesting story is how technology will help to promote peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16). Around the world, digital technologies are promoting access to public information and improving transparency of public institutions. The results are helping the public sector become more efficient and effective. Achieving the targets set in SDG 16 is crucial for all aspects of the 2030 Agenda.

SDG 16.9 calls for the provision of legal identities for all, including birth registration. Proper and secure identification is a precondition for people to be citizens in their countries. Legal identity is the key to the exercise of political rights, such as the right to vote.

But some 1.1 billion people, nearly one in six individuals globally, usually the poorest and most marginalised members of society, more than a third of them children under 18, are not registered as citizens. Identification is the first and most fundamental prerequisite for government to be able to interact with, and provide services to, its citizens. Without identification, citizens are likely to be excluded from public services, such as healthcare, education, welfare and financial services.

For the developing world, electronic identity (eID) schemes offer the potential to overcome existing barriers to citizen registration, such as inadequate physical infrastructure, illiteracy and corruption. One outstanding example is India's Aadhaar programme that provides authentication primarily based on fingerprints or an iris scan. Many Governments in the developing world are currently implementing or considering technology-enabled identity schemes.

Government interacts with technological innovation on multiple levels. As users and as regulators, governments must ensure that the applications of new technologies adhere to the rule of law and are in accordance with the central tenets of good governance, legality, transparency and accountability.

Innovation will cause profound change. Without effective institutions, technology could undermine relations between citizens and the state by infringing on privacy and human rights. Without doubt, innovation and technological change on scales forecasted promise to alter the way power is distributed and used within societies. States with effective institutions, however, will be better able to adjust to the effects of disruptive technologies, including on jobs, and strengthen the social contract through the constructive capacity of social media to mobilise collective action.

All this calls for competence in foresight - the art of considering alternative futures and gleaning insights for today's actions. Deploying strategic foresight methods in Government enables decision makers to be proactive rather than reactive in handling this rapidly changing environment, empowering them to take advantage of emerging opportunities and to become more resilient in the face of disruption and emerging challenges.

The use of new technologies - both in the public and private sector - profoundly affects citizens' trust in government. That in turn shapes the legitimacy of the state, the political foundation of the social stability on which sustained economic growth and development depend.

With this in mind, the UN System is already supporting Governments in accelerating SDG implementation through technology.

For example, the UNDP in Kuwait is supporting the Government of Kuwait in establishing a Behavioral Insights Policy Appraisal Lab, with the aim of applying behavioral economics in public policies. The UN has similarly supported governments in Armenia, Bangladesh, Moldova and Sri Lanka with designing and launching policy innovation labs, helping to engage citizens as co-creators of public services.

The UN is working in places like Lebanon, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen to harness decentralized solar solutions to ensure energy supplies, empowering communities, helping to ensure resilience and recovery from crisis.

Similarly, UNDP's Solar for Health initiative supports several African, Central Asian and Arab State governments to increase access to quality health services by equipping health centres with solar panels. Ensuring reliable and cost-eﬀective access to electricity in this way not only saves lives but also reduces CO2 emissions. Partners include solar panel producers, local governments and communities.

In partnership with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), the UN is also supporting India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to roll out an innovative mobile application that provides real-time information on cold chain temperatures and vaccine stocks and is significantly helping India's progress towards universal vaccine coverage. With UN support, the Ministry of Health in Indonesia are in the process of replicating this innovation.

These sort of opportunities, offered by disruptive technologies, could help developing countries to leapfrog obsolete generations of technology and become digital leaders of their own development priorities.

But the dividends of using digital solutions to promote development will only be achieved if the 'digital divide' is overcome. Internet connectivity can empower people and provide access to education and other public and private services. But it may also create new dependencies on developed world technological expertise, and vulnerabilities, such as to hacking.

We are all struggling to keep up with the knowledge, skills and tools required to harness the opportunities and mitigate the risks of disruptive technology innovations. Artificial intelligence can assess national development strategies many times faster than UN experts, possibly putting me out of a job in the not too distant future.

Cybersecurity will be an increasing concern. The collapse of critical infrastructure, such as power grids or air traffic systems, due to cyberattack could have catastrophic consequences for development.

All countries will therefore need to adapt to ensure that governments are prepared for this '4th Industrial Revolution'. Governments must also help business adapt to digital global competition, and workers' skills to the demands of the emerging digital economy. Safeguarding people against risk, by ensuring adequate social protection, skills training and education, is not an easy task. But the UN system can help by ensuring that key lessons and best-practices about managing shocks and technological disruptions are shared between countries and sectors.

So let's be frank about the challenges it will cause as technology advances at an unprecedented pace. Technologies do not come without risk, and not all technologies and risks are equally shared.

Technology-driven growth can have a disproportionate impact across countries, industries, and workers.

These are valid worries. I believe the UN will play an important role in addressing such dangers by working with its partners in government, the private sector and civil society.

Uncertainty is at the heart of technological change and innovation. Governments must provide an enabling policy and regulatory environment.

But, while innovation and new technologies can be powerful tools to accelerate the pace of development, to be successful, investment in technological innovation must be guided by political leadership, and underpinned by a skilled workforce capable of reaping the "digital dividend", and, above all, effective public institutions.

Thank you.

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Governments of the Future | United Nations Development Programme

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Let me start with a frank confession: I am a passionate believer in the potential of technology as we make sustainable development and inclusive societies a reality. My faith in technology's potential is grounded in solid evidence and personal experience.

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Data from UN agencies (UNICEF) (UNFPA) (UNDP) (UNwomen)

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Data from UN agencies (UNICEF) (UNFPA) (UNDP) (UNwomen)

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Every child has the right to a legal identity, but a quarter of children born today do not "officially" exist. These children are deprived of birth certificates - their first legal proof of identity - simply because their parents cannot afford it, cannot reach it, or face some other barrier to learning about and accessing registration services.

Without a birth certificate, children are invisible to their governments. This means they may miss out on essential programmes - like child protection, health care and education - that help secure their most fundamental rights.

A birth certificate is proof of

Because children without a birth certificate are unable to prove their age, they are more vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation. These girls and boys risk being trafficked, recruited into armed forces, or forced into early marriage or child labour. If they come into contact with the justice system, they may be prosecuted as adults and exposed to even more violence.

A birth certificate can also help protect migrant and refugee children from family separation. Without it, these children face a greater risk of statelessness due to lack of legal proof of nationality or legal ties to any country.

Children without birth certificates face uncertain futures. They can be cut off from routine vaccinations and other health care. They may be prevented from receiving social assistance, inheriting property, attending school or registering for exams. As a result, their future job prospects become extremely limited, rendering them more likely to live in poverty.

In young adulthood, official identification is also needed for basic but important transactions, like opening a bank account, registering to vote and entering the formal job market.

Of the 166 million children without a legal identity, half live in just five countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The benefits of birth registration go far beyond the child. Information from civil registration and vital statistics is essential for a country's planning. Governments rely on accurate data to assess populations' needs and make critical decisions about resource allocation - including those that affect the hardest-to-reach families. Without information on who's being left behind and why, social inequities risk becoming entrenched.

Why aren't some children being registered at birth?

A number of factors keep children from being registered. Most unregistered children live in poorer households - often in rural areas with limited access to registration services, or in the more than 100 countries without fully functioning civil registration systems. Cost is a significant barrier: Many families cannot afford to travel to registration sites or pay fees associated with registration, including fees for late registration.

In other cases, parents may be unaware of birth registration or may not understand how important it is.

Certain ethnic and religious minorities have lower birth registration rates than the national average. This may be because their culture places an emphasis on other customs - like naming ceremonies - or because they are marginalized, often living in remote areas or unrecognized by their governments.

And in a number of countries, women do not share the same rights as men, including when it comes to registering their children. Some are unable to register their children at all, while others may do so only in the presence of the father.

UNICEF has been a key global player in birth registration for over thirty years. In 2018, we worked with governments and communities worldwide to register more than 16 million births and issue birth certificates to over 13 million people.

Our work focuses on helping governments strengthen their civil registration systems. This includes increasing the number of service points where children can be registered, developing or updating birth registration policies, fostering innovation in registration technology, and increasing community awareness about birth registration.

We work across sectors like health, education and social protection to make information and services related to birth registration widely available. This is done through various means - including immunization drives, school enrolments and cash transfer programmes - and in numerous places - like hospitals and health centres.

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Every child has the right to a legal identity, but a quarter of children born today do not "officially" exist. These children are deprived of birth certificates - their first legal proof of identity - simply because their parents cannot afford it, cannot reach it, or face some other barrier to learning about and accessing registration services.

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Why are certain people left out of the registration process?

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Why are certain people left out of the registration process?

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How can birth registration rates be improved?

Legal identity, including birth registration, is a human right. For every child to fulfil this right, governments must improve and strengthen civil registration systems.

Improving birth registration rates can be done in a number of ways, including eliminating registration fees and late fees, or giving cash grants to families who register their children. Increasing the number of trained registrars, and/or sending them to remote areas in mobile registration units can also help governments reach more vulnerable populations.

Technology offers a promising solution as well. The Governments of Pakistan and Tanzania have introduced smartphone apps for birth registration, which allow registrars to digitally collect and upload birth registration data to a protected, centralized system, in real-time.

Ultimately, we need to make birth registration the new normal in communities where it is not regularly practiced. This means advocating for governments to revise their laws and policies, and working with communities to shift attitudes and behaviours - showing the value and benefits of birth registration to create a demand for it.

What is UNICEF doing to help?

UNICEF has been a key player in birth registration globally for over 30 years. In 2018, we worked with governments and communities to register over 16 million births and issue birth certificates to over 13 million people.

Our work focuses on helping governments strengthen their civil registration systems. This includes increasing the number of service points where children can be registered, developing or updating birth registration policies, innovations in registration technology, and increasing community awareness about birth registration.

We also work with other sectors, like health and education, to integrate birth registration into their work. This includes increasing birth registration in hospitals and health centres, including birth registration in immunization drives, and linking birth registration systems to national cash transfer system and student databases.

The world has made substantial progress on birth registration over the past 20 years. Today, around 75 per cent of children under 5 are registered, compared to 60 per cent in 2000. Without this progress, an additional 100 million children would be unregistered today.

But countries need more investment and commitment to achieve universal birth registration by 2030. Read more about UNICEF's recommendations here.

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What is birth registration and why does it matter?

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How can birth registration rates be improved? Legal identity, including birth registration, is a human right. For every child to fulfil this right, governments must improve and strengthen civil registration systems. Improving birth registration rates can be done in a number of ways, including eliminating registration fees and late fees, or giving cash grants to families who register their children.

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How are children registrated? How are the children of unmarried mothers identified?

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How are children registrated? How are the children of unmarried mothers identified?

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Society first acknowledges a child's existence and identity through birth registration. The right to be recognized as a person before the law is a critical step in ensuring lifelong protection and is a prerequisite for exercising all other rights.

A birth certificate is proof of legal identity, and is the basis upon which children can establish a nationality, avoid the risk of statelessness and seek protection from violence and exploitation. For example, proof of age is needed to help prevent child labour, child marriage and underage recruitment into the armed forces. A birth certificate may also be required to access social service systems, including health, education and justice.

This publication presents the latest available country data and global and regional estimates of the number of unregistered children. It also assesses progress over time and presents evidence for the amount of effort that will be needed - at both global and regional levels - to achieve universal birth registration by 2030.
ACCESS THE PUBLICATION ACCESS THE SUMMARY IN FRENCH
Data coverage and availability on birth registration has improved over time

Functioning civil registration systems are the main vehicles through which a legal identity for all can be achieved. Civil registration systems that are operating effectively compile vital statistics that are used to compare the estimated total number of births in a country with the absolute number of registered births during a given period. However, the systematic recording of births in many countries remains a serious challenge, highlighting the urgent need to improve and strengthen civil registration and vital statistics. While data coverage has improved over time, this has largely been the result of investment in collecting data on birth registration in low- and middle-income countries through household surveys. In fact, in the absence of reliable administrative records, household surveys have become a key source of data to monitor levels and trends in birth registration.
Over the last two and a half decades, the number of countries with household survey data on birth registration has risen dramatically - to over 120
Cumulative number of countries with household survey data on birth registration

Where we stand today

One in four children under age 5 (166 million), on average, are not registered in the world today. And even when they are, they may not have proof of registration. The reasons are all too common: a lack of resources and investment in accurate and comprehensive civil registration systems, coupled with barriers in accessing birth registration services, along with policy, regulatory and institutional obstacles.

A critical link: Making the connection between birth registration and certification

A birth certificate, obtained once a birth has been registered, provides children with proof of legal identity. It is considered a 'breeder document' necessary for applying for other documents, including a passport. Providing children with a birth certificate immediately after birth, rather than later in life, is essential to ensuring that they can claim their rights and access services. Nevertheless, the data show a large gap between the number of children whose births are reported as registered and those who actually have a birth certificate. Of the roughly 508 million children under age 5 who are registered worldwide, about 70 million lack proof of registration in the form of a birth certificate.

Time is of the essence: Registration should take place as soon as possible

Most countries have legislation in place that specifies the time period allowed between the occurrence of a vital event (such as a birth) and the obligatory registration of that event. Registration should take place as soon as possible after a birth has occurred. Registering a birth within a reasonable time (and no later than 30 days after the event) minimizes the risk of misreporting details or failing to report the birth altogether.

Assessing progress and looking to 2030

The last two decades have seen a rise in birth registration levels globally, with about 3 in 4 children under age 5 registered today compared to 6 in 10 around 2000. However, progress has been uneven. Additional investments will be required to ensure universal birth registration by 2030, particularly among the most vulnerable children. Simply raising birth registration levels is not enough. Improvements are also needed to enhance the quality of civil registration systems to achieve universal coverage along with continuity, confidentiality and regular dissemination of data. Civil registration records must be continuously maintained so they can be easily retrieved by individuals. At the same time, the registration process itself must be easily available and accessible to all.
Learn more about UNICEF's data work on birth registration ACCESS THE PUBLICATION ACCESS THE SUMMARY IN FRENCH

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Birth Registration for Every Child by 2030: Are we on track? - UNICEF DATA

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Society first acknowledges a child's existence and identity through birth registration. The right to be recognized as a person before the law is a critical step in ensuring lifelong protection and is a prerequisite for exercising all other rights.

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Who is left out of the Brazilian registration process?

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Who is left out of the Brazilian registration process?

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Information about birth certificates in Brazil
Price range from 5-21 euros (R$30-R$110)

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"Most people in Africa and Asia are born and die without leaving a trace in any legal record or official statistic," stated an article in a 2007 edition of . The author referred to this fact as a "scandal of invisibility."

Significant progress has been made since then. In 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a goal to provide legal identity for all. It also recognizes the importance of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems for monitoring the progress of 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

African countries have committed to registering every child's birth under the African Agenda 2063. In 2013, the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics ( APAI-CRVS) was created to guide and accelerate improvements to CRVS systems across the continent.

Yet change is still not happening fast enough. In sub-Saharan Africa, 95 million children under the age of 5 have never had their births recorded and 120 million don't have a birth certificate. If current trends continue, close to 115 million children will be unregistered by 2030. This means they won't legally exist.

Video: What if you didn't have a birth certificate?

Girls are less likely to have their births registered than boys in several African countries, including Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, Niger, and Sudan. Without a birth certificate, these girls struggle to exercise their rights, access public services, and gain social protection. Their exclusion creates inequalities that persist throughout their lifespan and pass to their children. It also leads to data gaps that prevent governments from planning effective policies.

Women and children face many of the same barriers as men - including poverty, distance from registration services, limited education, ethnicity, and disability. But for women and children, these barriers interact with and reinforce patriarchal social norms, such as a lack of autonomy, power imbalances, and harmful practices.

For example, registration offices are often hard to access for people living in rural areas. But they're particularly inaccessible to women who may have restricted financial independence and freedom of movement due to local customs and household responsibilities.

There are many welcome efforts to improve access to civil registration services for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. Yet few specifically highlight the gender dimensions of inequality in civil registration.

There are several opportunities to rebalance gender inequalities in CRVS systems and increase civil registration among women, children, and other vulnerable populations. These include:

Around 370 million children (roughly 3 in 4) live in sub-Saharan African countries where you must pay a fee for birth registration. Removing this fee would lower barriers for people living in poverty or who have limited financial autonomy.

One way to do this is by linking birth registration to the provision of healthcare, particularly antenatal and maternity services. This shifts the burden from women to health administrators, who are more able to interact with civil registration offices.

Some countries require unmarried women to disclose the identity of their child's father. The stigma associated with childbirth out of wedlock often discourages women from registering their child's birth. The UN therefore recommends that information on a mother's marital status should not be included in a legal document unless there are compelling reasons to do so.

Some barriers to civil registration are built into a society's social fabric. We may be able to reshape these obstacles over time by studying them in specific contexts and working closely with local communities.

Women are uniquely positioned to facilitate and advocate for CRVS. They represent 67% of the world's formal health workforce and are often the primary caregivers at home, meaning they have important knowledge about vital events in their families and communities. There is potential to strengthen CRVS systems by developing the roles of women in healthcare - for example, in Rwanda health workers notify the civil registrar of deaths and conduct verbal autopsies.

Decision-makers need more evidence about gender inequities in civil registration if they're to build inclusive, universal CRVS systems. The Centre of Excellence for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems is helping to close this gap by publishing a Knowledge Brief Series on Gender and CRVS.

Want to learn more about the topics covered in this article? Download the fourth paper in our second knowledge brief: Empowering Women and Girls through Civil Registration Systems.

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Improving birth registration for an inclusive Africa

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"Most people in Africa and Asia are born and die without leaving a trace in any legal record or official statistic," stated an article in a 2007 edition of The Lancet. The author referred to this fact as a "scandal of invisibility."

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AMMAN/ DAKAR/ NAIROBI - African governments must scale up proven solutions to improve birth registration, if they are to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target on providing legal identity for all, including birth registration, UNICEF said today, on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day in Africa.

The data is daunting. In sub-Saharan Africa, less than half of all children are registered. If current trends persist, with a rapidly growing child population, 115 million will be unregistered children by 2030.

"The fact that tens and tens of millions of children are currently invisible to their governments is discouraging and harmful," Mohamed Malick Fall, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. "This greatly inhibits governments' ability to plan, for instance, how many teachers and doctors their countries require - and denies children fundamental rights that flow from the official notification of their births. Fortunately, there are proven solutions that can easily bring huge leaps in birth registration rates across Africa, however Implementing these solutions will require political commitment and action at national scale."

UNICEF says that innovation, new approaches to decentralization and digitization can increase overall registration coverage. By way of example, in Tanzania, decentralizing registration from the central registration authority to the local authorities and local health facilities increased certification rates from 10 per cent in 2012 to more than 80 per cent in 2019, in 13 target districts. While new evidence in UNICEF-supported districts in West Africa and Central Africa, which has the lowest birth registration rates in the world at only 45 per cent, has shown marked improvements on birth registration rates when linked to health service delivery.

For instance, since 2016 in some districts of Guinea, UNICEF has supported routine birth registration services through health and immunization platforms, where children born at health facilities and those coming for vaccination during the first six months have been successfully registered. In one year between 2017 and 2018, birth registration improved by 100 per cent. While in four priority regions in Senegal, routine registration of children under one in hospital and health centres has increased birth registration rates by an average of 44 per cent, while the national registration rate only improved by 3 per cent.

"We know that birth registration is essential so that each child counts, and we need governments to scale up services that have shown results and are cost effective," said Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa. "Providing parents with the opportunity to register the birth of their children in health centers represents a major opportunity to improve birth registration alongside routine immunization."

Africa has a strong case for becoming the focus of international efforts to register child births. By 2050, one in three children under 18 will be African as the bulk of the world's population growth now occurs on the continent. As such, UNICEF says birth registration must increasingly become a top priority in Africa, as countries seek to address the dangers of legal invisibility and prevent violations of child rights such as child marriages, child labor, trafficking and recruitment and use in conflict.

"As the Convention on the Rights of the Child turns 30 this year, we need to renew our commitment to ensuring every child has a name and nationality," said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. "By registering a child from birth, States recognize the child's individual importance and take a decisive step towards children's access to learning, healthcare and other essential services. Birth registration also helps prevent exploitation, child marriage, detention and recruitment into armed forces or groups."

UNICEF's call comes as Africa under the Africa Union commemorates the Second Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS), under the theme "Birth certificates for all: Fundamental for Protecting Human Rights and Promoting Inclusion."
Media Contacts
James Elder Regional Chief of Communication UNICEF Eastern & Southern Africa Tel: +254 715 581 222 Email: jelder@unicef.org

Diane Yameogo Communication Specialist UNICEF West & Central Africa Tel: +221 77 332 4326 Email: diyameogo@unicef.org
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org.

Follow UNICEF in Africa on Twitter and Facebook

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Effective birth registration essential for legal identity for all - World

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AMMAN/ DAKAR/ NAIROBI - African governments must scale up proven solutions to improve birth registration, if they are to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target on providing legal identity for all, including birth registration, UNICEF said today, on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day in Africa. The data is daunting.

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An innovative programme piloted in Tanzania's Mbeya region uses mobile phone technology to make birth registration simple, affordable and widely accessible - an important step in getting every child off to the right start.
MBEYA, United Republic of Tanzania, January 2014 - "It's very simple, I'll show you," says Adela Mwakala with a smile. In just 30 seconds, Ms. Mwakala enters the baby's name, registration number, date of birth, mother's name and city of residence in her mobile phone. She then sends the data via SMS to a central database in Dar es Salaam.

Ms. Mwakala is a medical technician at Meta Hospital in Mbeya, capital city of one of the most populous regions in Tanzania. "Every mother that comes to the hospital must get a birth certificate for her child. It's my mission," she says proudly.

The new Tanzanian citizen registered today is a one-week-old baby girl named Gloria Celestine. "Right after I gave birth, the nurse informed me that I had to get a birth certificate for my baby," says her mother, Yovina Constantino, 18 years old. "I know it's important. It's needed everywhere - for my child to access education, and employment opportunities later on."

Nothing would seem simpler than recording the name, sex, parent age and place of a child's birth. But the evidence in Tanzania tells another story. The country has the second-lowest rate of birth registration in the Eastern and Southern African region.
Right to an identity
"From the moment a child like Gloria Celestine is born, she or he has rights, including the right to an identity. A birth certificate is one of the most important documents a child will ever own," says Birgithe Lund-Henriksen, UNICEF Tanzania's Chief of Child Protection. "It is evidence that the child exists and that the Government has certain obligations with regard to the child."

As Ms. Lund-Henriksen explains, a child without a birth certificate can face many challenges later in life, such as proving his or her age in a court of law, accessing certain services like opening a bank account or getting a passport, and being able to apply for certain jobs.

"Equally important for the Government of Tanzania, without a functioning birth registration system there is no clear picture at any given time of the number of children by age in Tanzania," she adds. "This is critical information for provision of basic social services."

There are many reasons children do not get registered. Sometimes the costs are prohibitive or the birth registration services are too far away for families to access them. Sometimes families are simply unaware of how to register a birth, or of the importance of doing so.

"It's very expensive to get a birth certificate for your child," Ms. Constantino says. "That's the reason why my own parents never got me one. Parents have to pay 3,500 shillings [about US$2.20] if they request it within 90 days of the birth of their child, and 4,000 shillings [about $2.75] if they request it after. Plus there's the cost of traveling to the district government office to collect the document."
Innovation
In 2013, the Government of Tanzania, UNICEF, and the telecommunication company Tigo, with support from VSO International, joined hands to develop and implement an innovative mobile application to register children under 5, which simplifies the process of registration, as data is entered into a mobile phone and sent via SMS to the government agency responsible for birth registration.

The hospital has implemented a simplified birth registration process - submitting necessary information via SMS. This ensures that newborns like Gloria Celestine (above) can go home from hospital with a birth certificate.

The application is designed to work on all mobile phones and operating systems, and only requires mobile coverage to send and receive data. July 2013 marked the roll-out of the new birth registration system in Mbeya region, using the mobile application.

"Our strategy is to integrate health services and birth registration, like at Meta Hospital where Yovina gave birth to her daughter, Gloria Celestine," explains Noela Gabriel Itunga, Assistant Registration Officer at the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA), the government agency partnering with UNICEF and Tigo in the initiative. "This is also a service that is provided for free. It means that only a couple of days after her daughter was born, Yovina can go home with a birth certificate in hand."

Before the start of the new birth registration strategy in Mbeya region, there were more than 383,000 children under 5 without a birth certificate - approximately 90 per cent of under‐5s. Six months later, more than 150,000 under‐5s have been registered and issued birth certificates, representing 36 per cent of children under 5.

Following the success in Mbeya, the system is scheduled to be introduced in an additional four regions, with the aim to register more than 1 million children under 5 by 2015.

This innovation has come at a time when mobile solutions are critical to ensuring Tanzania's next generation gets the best start in life.

"I dream that my daughter one day will be well educated and able to get a good job, like being a doctor," says Ms. Constantino. "I know I'm giving her the best chance to do so with a birth certificate."
Photo by Sandra Bisin. About the contributor: Sandra Bisin started her career as a free-lance print and broadcast journalist, moving later on to the corporate film production industry. She has been working with UNICEF Tanzania since August 2013 and is in charge of the Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships section. Prior to this, she worked in Viet Nam, Niger and Pakistan, also for UNICEF. From 2005 till mid-2007, Sandra worked in Sri Lanka for the World Food Programme and the German Development Cooperation (GiZ). She worked as Communication officer with the French National Committee for UNICEF in 2004-2005. A French national, Sandra holds a Masters degree in Journalism from La Sorbonne University in Paris, France.

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A new solution for birth registration - UNICEF Connect

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An innovative programme piloted in Tanzania's Mbeya region uses mobile phone technology to make birth registration simple, affordable and widely accessible - an important step in getting every child off to the right start. MBEYA, United Republic of Tanzania, January 2014 - "It's very simple, I'll show you," says Adela Mwakala with a smile.

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IDLO is the only global intergovernmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law to advance peace and sustainable development. We have experience working in more than 90 countries around the world with various legal systems. Our network includes thousands of trusted experts, alumni and partners. Established as an intergovernmental organization in 1988, IDLO has had United Nations Observer Status since 2001.

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"Ideals are there to inspire and to be upheld. Fortunately, the ideal of a peaceful world continues to motivate many people. However, we need concrete goals in order to realize this ideal and to transform it from a utopia into a vision on clear progress in the near future," opened Dr. Bernard R. Bot, Chairman of the Carnegie Foundation at Making SDG16 Work for the Rule of Law and Access to Justice. The event, organized by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in The Hague on 28 September, was held to discuss progress made on realizing Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals with a special focus on conflict-affected and fragile states.

Hosted at the iconic Peace Palace, the event is the first in a series to be convened annually over next 15 years, bringing together actors to deliberate over insights and challenges on data availability, monitoring and measuring, as well as local ownership of SDG commitments. It is supported by the Knowledge Platform Security and Rule of Law, of which IDLO is a consortium partner.
Goal 16 of Agenda 2030
Two years after the adoption of the ambitious 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the international community continues to implement programs, develop indicators and monitor progress in advancing global development. While there are references to equality, inclusiveness, peace and rights for all throughout the Agenda, these aspirations are particularly enshrined in Goal 16, which aims to "promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels."

IDLO has long regarded Goal 16, as an outcome and enabler of sustainable development. The Goal positions the rule of law as a " golden thread that runs through the tapestry of the SDGs ", and a key component for sustaining peace.

IDLO's Director of Research and Learning, Dr. Ilaria Bottigliero spoke at the event about IDLO's contributions to advancing Goal 16 through its mandate to promote the rule of law. "IDLO has been a strong supporter of the SDGs and of SDG16, which we see as indispensable to achieve peace, justice and strong institutions, especially in fragile and conflict affected states."

"In our daily activities, we see first-hand the challenges to SDG16 implementation," she continued. "The questions we are trying to tackle today, such as: Have we seen progress in SDG16? What are the challenges to further progress? How can the international community address these challenges? - all these questions become very real through our programmatic work."
IDLO programming to advance Goal 16
Through its rule of law and access to justice work, IDLO is supporting Goal 16 implementation at the country level, so that the SDGs can be advanced globally. IDLO's programming is primarily based in post-conflict and fragile contexts, where institutions lack the organizational capacity to deliver justice and, oftentimes, the trust of the people they are meant to serve.

"While the inclusion of SDG 16 is a step towards recognizing the consequences of conflict and violence on development outcomes, there is still a long way to go to tackle this problem from a rule of law perspective," remarked Dr. Bottigliero.

Dr. Ilaria Bottigliero, IDLO's Director of Research and Learning, gives remarks at the IEP's SDG 16 event in The Hague.

In response to these needs, IDLO works to support institution-building activities on the premise that strong, accountable institutions can engender trust and inspire confidence in the public to engage with the justice system if they know it will deliver fair and swift justice outcomes.

In Afghanistan, for example, the Justice Training and Transition Program works to strengthen the justice sector by ensuring continual professional development of justice actors through training and encouraging institutional ownership.

IDLO's capacity-building initiatives across countries work to render justice institutions more effective by strengthening capabilities, restoring integrity and promoting the rule of law. "Our evaluations show [that] interventions of this kind can have a positive impact at the local level," remarked Dr. Bottigliero.
The value of local context and diversity of actors
At the same time, building the capacity of institutions is not enough if interventions don't focus on the local specificities that enable or prevent transformative change, and if access to justice through formal institutions remains out of reach for much of the population.

"If we want to support countries achieve Goal 16 targets, we must take account of the distinct nature of each situation in which we work and invest in understanding the context, including the political and social structures, gender imbalances and human rights issues," said Dr. Bottigliero. "Our programmatic intervention and policy advocacy need to consider the political dynamics and the needs of the end-users of justice, especially women, the poor, marginalized and vulnerable groups."

There is therefore a need for tailored, "bottom-up" responses sensitive to these risks. For example, IDLO's work on the DREAMS program seeks to strengthen community level responses to HIV-related legal services for adolescent girls and young women in Uganda and Tanzania. The DREAMS program's unique combination of legal empowerment strategies with social accountability strategies supports the protection of rights and targets the drivers of gender inequality.

To ensure the local context is considered, IDLO's programs seek to involve actors beyond those directly embedded in the formal justice sector. As part of the program to strengthen the justice chain in Mali, for example, actors ranging from police officers, court administration, civil society representatives, correction officers and journalists are convened for consultation frameworks to discuss justice priorities, take ownership over the program's implementation and lead the institutional reform activities.
Photo credit: Institute of Economics and Peace

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Supporting SDG 16: Local solutions to advance global goals

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"Ideals are there to inspire and to be upheld. Fortunately, the ideal of a peaceful world continues to motivate many people. However, we need concrete goals in order to realize this ideal and to transform it from a utopia into a vision on clear progress in the near future," opened Dr. Bernard R.

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Brazilian organization that facilitates the acquiring of legal documents from your birth registration to your drivers license.

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Segunda Via do Rg

Use os totens do Poupatempo, distribuídos em diversas localidades do Estado, e receba seu novo RG (segunda via) em casa, pelos Correios (confira os endereços), além de acessar mais de 60 serviços como a renovação de CNH, consulta de multas de veículos, boletos da CDHU, segunda via do IPTU, entre outros.

Assista ao vídeo

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Use os totens do Poupatempo, distribuídos em diversas localidades do Estado, e receba seu novo RG (segunda via) em casa, pelos Correios (confira os endereços), além de acessar mais de 60 serviços como a renovação de CNH, consulta de multas de veículos, boletos da CDHU, segunda via do IPTU, entre outros.

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Segunda Via do Rg

Use os totens do Poupatempo, distribuídos em diversas localidades do Estado, e receba seu novo RG (segunda via) em casa, pelos Correios (confira os endereços), além de acessar mais de 60 serviços como a renovação de CNH, consulta de multas de veículos, boletos da CDHU, segunda via do IPTU, entre outros.

Assista ao vídeo

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Use os totens do Poupatempo, distribuídos em diversas localidades do Estado, e receba seu novo RG (segunda via) em casa, pelos Correios (confira os endereços), além de acessar mais de 60 serviços como a renovação de CNH, consulta de multas de veículos, boletos da CDHU, segunda via do IPTU, entre outros.

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Its talks about the toolkit of legal ID, but not the price. I wasn't able to find any article for it but this one talks about governments taking responsibility and paying for the fees.

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Estonia has the best national ID system since they can follow procedures online.
Africa has one of the least effective system as it is paper-based which is prone to have more difficulties compared to online systems.

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ID Systems are a key aspect in any civilized society. If not so, how else can citizens' rights and duties be guaranteed, as well as a stable economic system? Despite this, you should not take the fact that nations have a robust ID system for granted. Experiences around the world can be very different.

In this previous post, we discussed the pending subjects of the current identification systems. Now, it's time for an analysis per country.

National ID Systems: Top 3

Country: Estonia

It's no secret that many consider Estonia as the first digital nation. There, citizens carry an identification that completely transcends the notion of a document. The online identity. It's not only a quick and complete cover letter, but also an expedite way to carry out all kinds of procedures without leaving home.

Except for marrying someone or buying/selling a house, Estonians can request any procedure or service online. One of the pillars that allow this to happen is its Smart-ID system, which provides a highly reliable electronic signature.

Country: Malaysia

Malaysia was one of the pioneer countries in implementing modern digital identification systems.

The national identification card, MyKad, was the first government-. It quickly became multi-purpose and was also the first form of "dual interface" identification to exist.
Loreben Tuquero, on rappler.com

Country: Argentina

In Latin America, a case to be highlighted is Argentina.

Argentina has a Digital Identity System, which allows " validating the identity remotely and in real time" by uploading a photo of the identity document or simply a photo of the person to the platform. Thus, a citizen can manage his information or procedures in an easy and secure way, through the Internet.

How does it work? For an entity to identify a citizen, all they need is to take a photo of their ID (front and back). You can take a photo of your own face as well. Then, you send it to online databases where the ID system compares it and returns a validation of the person.

Things to improve in the National ID Systems

Region: Africa

A World Bank study found that one of the most affected regions worldwide, with high rates of unidentified people, is Africa.

There are still 34 African nations that register newborns with an offline and paper-based system.

Countries without identification documents

Around the world, there is a group of countries that do not currently have a national identity document. It is not a question of development: first world countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Norway top the list.

Special cases

United States

As you maybe know, in the United States, the main identification document is the driver's license. And, in each State, they have the right to issue those licenses.

However, in 2015 the "Real ID Act" came to light, a congressional act that amended the law on standard identification procedures through a driver's license and other documents issued by the State in question.

A travel document is necessary in order to visit another countries, depending on immigration agreements. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Now all the identification documents of that country must comply with certain regulations and is the Ministry of National Security (Department of Homeland Security) who controls sees for their compliance.

UK

According to the UK government website, ID cards were already obsolete in 2011. Today, those old IDs are not valid for any paperwork.

To travel, citizens of this country must obtain a passport. And residents who come from another country have a document that accredits them as such, , linking their biometric data as well.

To a large extent, privacy is one of the arguments against an ID system in that country. In this article, the Reuters agency consulted the founder of a startup called Exsulcoin, who is of the opinion that if one day the United Kingdom considers reintroducing the identification card, perhaps it should think of an encrypted way to store personal data on the network.

Digital ID systems: the future is here

Acuity Marketing Intelligence, an analyst firm, estimated that 82 percent of all countries that have a national ID system use cards that they could easily link to an electronic system with biometric data.

It is pertinent to remember that the implementation and maintenance of these identification systems is a very successful business. According to Acuity, this industry will generate 56 billion dollars in the period between 2016 and 2021.

National ID systems exist in most of the countries in the world. But not in all countries do they have the same characteristics and potential. That is why a universal social identity network is needed ... it will come soon.

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Top National ID Systems - Find your digital self

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ID Systems are a key aspect in any civilized society. If not so, how else can citizens' rights and duties be guaranteed, as well as a stable economic system? Despite this, you should not take the fact that nations have a robust ID system for granted. Experiences around the world can be very different.

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Thank you, Mark.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great pleasure to be here this evening to open this important event and discuss a bit about the progress made to accelerate the delivery of peace, justice and strong institutions as set out in Sustainable Development Goals 16+ and the 2030 agenda.

Excellent turnout today for representatives from Member States, the UN, civil society and the private sector to reflect the widespread recognition that SDG16 - and of course, the 36 targets alongside it that measure peace, justice and strong institutions - matter hugely in their own right. But they are also central to all of the goals. And if we don't deliver SDG16, we risk the entire 2030 agenda.

All countries face challenges in the implementation of SDG16 targets, including my own. These targets are crucial in order to leave no one behind. And a country without peace, justice and strong institutions just cannot deliver the most vulnerable in society.

The attendance this evening and the organisation of this evening is also a reminder of the central importance of partnerships. This event has been organized by the Global Alliance, the Pathfinders, the 16+ Forum, together with the UK, the Transparency, Accountability and Participation Network and LexisNexis. And one of our key tasks as partners is to reiterate the importance of us to SDG16, both for the UK and the world.

The fact is that Goal 16 is at risk of not being delivered. And tonight, I wanted to highlight some of the reasons why.

Firstly, on the importance of peace, it's estimated that more than half of the world's poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence and conflict by 2030.

Forced displacement has risen sharply since 2005 to 65.6 million people, many of whom are women and children.

Effective conflict prevention will save lives and of course, also deliver annual net savings globally of at least $5 billion.

We need to significantly reduce all forms of violence to ensure that no one is left behind. That's why in 2017, the UK doubled its contribution to the UN's Peacebuilding Fund to help prevent conflicts and alongside that, we launched a national action plan for Women Peace and Security, which puts women and girls in the heart of the UK's work to prevent and resolve conflict, recognizing the importance of inclusion.

On justice worldwide, it's estimated that 1.7 billion people cannot access justice and cannot obtain solutions to their legal issues. And injustices are often hidden; one million children and one third of women are victims of violence, and many of whom do not have a voice. The lack of justice not only affects individuals, it negatively influences growth and may foster violent conflict. It's estimated that these unresolved legal problems can reduce GDP growth by up to 3 percent.

The rule of law and access to justice are the foundations of economic and social development; peace, security and good governance are the building blocks of stable and successful societies. And linked to justice, corruption, we all know has a ruinous effect everywhere, but especially in developing countries where it can hamper reform and reduces the state's ability to deliver public services.

DFID is the only donor to use our ODA to address the UK end of corruption in developing countries. We follow the UK law enforcement efforts to recover and return money stolen from developing countries and purportedly to prosecute UK companies and nationals who pay bribes in developing countries. By 2018, over £783 million of assets have been confiscated or returned, and 30 companies and individuals have been convicted of corruption offenses. And we must continue that work to ensure that we see a true reduction in corruption that we all want to see.

And finally, the third part of the goal: stronger institutions. Many governments around the world are clamping down on civic space. The Civicus Monitor reports that civic space is being severely curtailed in 111 countries. Those organisations that are challenging corruption and abuse or standing up for their rights and the rights of others; they're the ones being hit the hardest. According to the International Centre For Not For Profit Law, 67 percent of the new civil society regulations proposed or enacted around the world since 2013 were restrictive, negatively affecting civil society organisations ability to register, to operate, to advocate and to receive funding. And we all know that civic space for inclusive development, tackling extreme poverty and ensuring that those on the margins of society are not permanently excluded without a voice.

And across the globe, as Mark says, the media is experiencing unprecedented challenges in its ability to operate. It's dangerous to be a journalist in all sorts of countries around the world, and global press freedom has declined to its lowest point in 30 years in 2016 and made unparalleled threats to journalists and to media outlets. Just last week, the UK held a media freedom conference to highlight the importance of a free media, which of course is integral to the delivery of SDG 16. And we hope that that conference generated significant momentum to shine a global spotlight on media freedom, changing political calculations and increasing the costs to those who are abusing it.

So I've wanted a series of challenges that we face if we're able to achieve SDG16+. I'm sorry if I paint a fairly depressing picture. We must speak the truth, though. We should not be pessimistic because by working together we can address these challenges. That's what tonight's event is all about.

We need a whole of society approach to SDG 16. It requires government, the UN, the World Bank and civil societies, media, private sector, NGOs, youth organisations and others, all of you in this room, to work together.

As I've said, we're not going to be able to deliver the Global Agenda 2030 if we do not deliver SDG16 fully and that means facing a civil society, a strong media freedom access to justice, and respect for human rights.

This is the first High Level Political Forum to review SDG16+. The Voluntary National Review is an important process in itself. It helps us as Member States collect and analyse the data we need to inform policies at home to make the progress needed. And it provides us the chance to showcase progress and challenges - as so many Member States have done so well today. But the full delivery of SDG 16+ requires even greater ambition.

In the next 77 days, the first SDG summit provides an important opportunity to redouble our efforts. The President of the General Assembly has urged all countries to come to the SDG summit prepared to announce acceleration measures and specific, targeted next steps.

A call for accelerated action is at the heart of the political declaration for the summit, and a registry to capture these accelerator actions has recently been launched. The registry is open to all stakeholders, and we need work together and build momentum and reinforce the call to action.

And this process presents a real opportunity to make progress on SDG16+. A group of over 35 member states have already answered this challenge, with a joint-statement launched this week F to support accelerated implementation of the SDG16+ targets. And we should use this HLPF to likewise join the call for accelerated action at the SDG Summit.

I greatly appreciate the participation of all of the panellists and our facilitator Mark Thompson.

I know that the discussion tonight will help contribute to our mutual goals - the future of SDG 16+ is in all of our hands; it is our responsibility to deliver it fully.

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Thank you, Mark. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great pleasure to be here this evening to open this important event and discuss a bit about the progress made to accelerate the delivery of peace, justice and strong institutions as set out in Sustainable Development Goals 16+ and the 2030 agenda.

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What organizations are assisting this issue?

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What organizations are assisting this issue?

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How much on average does it cost for all necessary legal documentation?

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How much on average does it cost for all necessary legal documentation?

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What countries have the most and the least progress?

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What countries have the most and the least progress?

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Legal ID costs in Africa and the difficulties of acquiring the proper legal documents.

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34 Pages Posted: 3 Apr 2020

Date Written: April 15, 2015

Abstract

After half a century of stagnation, civil registration in Africa has shown hesitant signs of progress since the turn of the century. Yet, there are still countries where registration rates have declined, which is uncommon in any other part of the world. Birth registration in Africa still covers less than one in two births. At the same time hi-tech national ID-systems are launched and elections are conducted using sophisticated technology at considerable cost. The "African way" of sequencing the development of civil registration and identification systems is unorthodox. Industrialized countries have followed a different pathway to reach universal coverage, reliability, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of their civil identity systems. This African departure from the proven road-map raises a series of important questions. This paper focuses on the viability and the cost of this "African pathway", labeled by some as "leapfrogging" and "closing the identity gap". South Africa is shown as an example that by all accounts has "leapfrogged" and "closed the "identity gap", while taking the proven, orthodox roadway. Emulating this best practice example would save the continent a multiple of the costs of fixing civil registration.

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the high cost of legal identity in africa

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The High Cost of Legal Identity in Africa

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34 Pages Posted: 3 Apr 2020 Date Written: April 15, 2015 After half a century of stagnation, civil registration in Africa has shown hesitant signs of progress since the turn of the century. Yet, there are still countries where registration rates have declined, which is uncommon in any other part of the world.

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How are the governments addressing this issue?

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How are the governments addressing this issue?

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A few governments are taking action, but it's hard to access public documents and resources

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France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs

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Since 2000, the number of people forced to flee war, conflict and extreme violence has grown constantly. Reducing conflicts and building and consolidating peace requires unprecedented mobilization by the international community, for there can be no development without security and no security without development.

The 2030 Agenda lays out a world freed of corruption, illegal trafficking and illegal arms smuggling, which remain real threats to humankind's political stability and development.

Key figures

20%

of the funding delegated by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs to the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, French Development Agency) to finance projects initiated by French civil society organizations involved in international solidarity are allocated to human rights, governance and vulnerable populations

At the Ministry's request, the AFD provides €5 million in funding to the Open Government Partnership initiative, the open data activities of which seek to make institutions more efficient, more transparent and more accountable.

In November 2016, the Interministerial Committee for International Cooperation and Development (CICID) decided to create a facility for vulnerability attenuation and disaster response providing €100 million per year, implemented by the AFD.

Examples of projects

In the framework of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, the financial instrument of the Valletta Action Plan (November 2015), many projects seek to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

Under this Fund, several projects promoted by France aim to address SDG 16, including:

the project to support the prevention of violent radicalization in Mauritania, promoted by Expertise France;

the Lake Chad initiative supported by the AFD aims to meet the needs of the population affected by the Boko Haram crisis by developing income-generating activities and strengthening social cohesion between displaced persons and host populations.

the programmes to support the operation of civil status systems in Mali and Senegal, promoted by Civipol.

France also contributes to the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis ("Madad Fund"), created in 2014 in order to guarantee the access to education and employment of children and young people, including both Syrian refugees and members of host communities, and to support administrations in host countries in ensuring subsistence and social cohesion.

Ministry publications
Updated: May 2017
Publications by implementing agencies

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Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères

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SDG 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

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Since 2000, the number of people forced to flee war, conflict and extreme violence has grown constantly. Reducing conflicts and building and consolidating peace requires unprecedented mobilization by the international community, for there can be no development without security and no security without development.

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What is the age range of undocumented people?

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What is the age range of undocumented people?

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NEW YORK, 11 December 2019 - The number of children whose births are officially registered has increased significantly worldwide, yet 166 million children under-five, or 1 in 4, remain unregistered, according to a new report released by UNICEF today on its own 73 rd birthday.

Birth Registration for Every Child by 2030: Are we on track? - which analyses data from 174 countries - shows that the proportion of children under-five registered globally is up around 20 per cent from 10 years ago - increasing from 63 per cent to 75 per cent.

"We have come a long way but too many children are still slipping through the cracks, uncounted and unaccounted for," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. "A child not registered at birth is invisible - nonexistent in the eyes of the government or the law. Without proof of identity, children are often excluded from education, health care and other vital services, and are more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse."

Global progress is driven largely by great strides in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. In India, the proportion of registered children rose from 41 per cent in 2005-2006 to 80 per cent in 2015-2016. In recent years, UNICEF has worked with the Government of India to prioritize birth registration across states by increasing and improving access to registration centres, training officials and community workers and rolling out public awareness programmes, particularly amongst the most vulnerable communities.

By contrast, the majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa lag behind the rest of the world, with Ethiopia (3 per cent), Zambia (11 per cent*) and Chad (12 per cent) recording the lowest levels of registered births globally.

The report notes that nearly 1 in 3 countries - accounting for around a third of the global population of children under the age of five - will need to urgently speed up progress in order to meet the target of providing legal identity for all, including birth registration, as set out in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Barriers to registration globally include lack of knowledge on how to register a child's birth, unaffordable fees for registering a birth or obtaining a birth certificate, fees for late registration and long distances to the nearest registration facility. Traditional customs and practices in some communities - such as new mothers staying indoors - may also deter or prevent formal birth registration in the permitted timeframe.

Even when children are registered, possession of a birth certificate is less common, with 237 million children under-five globally - or slightly more than 1 in 3 - lacking this official proof of registration.

In Birth Registration for Every Child by 2030, UNICEF calls for five actions to protect all children:

Provide every child with a certificate upon birth.

Empower all parents, regardless of gender, to register their children at birth.

Link birth registration to other systems to facilitate every child's right to services including health, social protection and education.

Invest in safe and innovative technological solutions to facilitate birth registration.

Engage communities to demand birth registration for every child.

"Every child has a right to a name, a nationality and a legal identity, so any improvement in increased registration levels is welcome news," said Fore. "But as we have just marked the 30 th anniversary of these rights - as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child - we must not stop until every child is counted."

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Notes to Editors:
Birth registrationis the official recording of the occurrence and characteristics of a birth by the civil registrar within the civil registry, in accordance with the legal requirements of a country. A birth certificate is a vital record, issued by the civil registrar, that documents the birth of a child. Because it is a certified extract from the birth registration record, it proves that registration has occurred - making this document the first, and often only, proof of legal identity, particularly for children.

UNICEF global databases include birth registration estimates for 174 countries, primarily from nationally representative household surveys such as the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Other data sources in the global database include other national surveys, censuses and vital statistics from civil registration systems.

*Latest available data 2013-2014 (DHS). Updated data are expected to be released in early 2020.

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Despite significant increase in birth registration, a quarter of the world's children remain 'invisible'

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NEW YORK, 11 December 2019 - The number of children whose births are officially registered has increased significantly worldwide, yet 166 million children under-five, or 1 in 4, remain unregistered, according to a new report released by UNICEF today on its own 73 rd birthday.

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16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration

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1. What was the reason why the SDG was created?

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1. What was the reason why the SDG was created?

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According to United Nations, it was deemed important to ensure law and human rights were implicated into the SDGs, so they created SDG 16, which promotes the rule of law at national and international levels to ensure safety and equal access to justice for everyone.

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Sustainable Development Goal 16 - United Nations and the Rule of Law

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3. What is considered a satisfactory completion of this SDG?

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3. What is considered a satisfactory completion of this SDG?

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The goals of SDG 16 are separated into subsections. The author of this document rephrased them, as you can see here:
16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children
16.3 Promote the rule of of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.4 By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flow, strengthen the recovery and return of
stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all
their forms
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent
institutions at all levels
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and
representative decision-making at all levels
16.8 Broaden and strengthen the participation of
developing countries in the institutions of global
governance
16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including
birth registration
16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect
fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national
legislation and international agreements
16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions,
including through international cooperation, for
building capacity at all levels, in particular in
developing countries, to prevent violence and combat
terrorism and crime
16.b Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
(credits to Alan Whaites and UN respectfully)

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SDG 16 is measured using a set of 24 indicators and 12 global targets which were all agreed upon by the UN members in the statistics department.

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Image: SDG Report 2019

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on Peace, Justice and Inclusion breaks new ground in development thinking. Not only is it the first time that these issues are being addressed in a dedicated global development goal with detailed targets. The Thematic Review of SDG 16 at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2019 also recognized that Peace, Justice and Inclusive Institutions work as enablers for the entire 2030 Agenda. Despite some efforts for accelerating progress on SDG 16, the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019 notes that there is still some way to go before realizing peaceful, just and inclusive societies worldwide.

SDG 16 is measured by 12 global targets with 24 associated indicators which were agreed by UN Member States in the UN Statistical Commission. Together, they show progress, or lack thereof, on Peace, Justice and Inclusion.

Peace - Although some countries reported positive progress for reaching higher levels of peaceful societies, the world at large is experiencing a negative trend with further tensions and societal insecurities, as well as escalating conflicts with an ever-expanding refugee crisis as a result. Some of the global indicators relating to the Peace dimension are:

Justice - Access to fair justice systems is an inherent human right, yet victims of violations do experience unjust treatments and unresolved prosecution processes.

Inclusion - Transparent, accountable and inclusive public institutions serve as the cornerstones for the state to provide the citizens their basic human rights. Birth registration counts as one of the most intrinsic right which in many countries is far from being realized for the whole population, neglecting marginalized people which fail to endorse the principles of leaving no one behind. One global indicator relating to the Inclusion dimension is:

UNDP is a "custodian agency" for several global SDG 16 indicators under targets 16.3, 16.6 & 16.7. This means UNDP has a special responsibility to support countries to report on them at the global level.

UNDP also supports countries to monitor progress on SDG 16 and to produce governance statistics more broadly at the country level, through various initiatives.

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Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on Peace, Justice and Inclusion breaks new ground in development thinking. Not only is it the first time that these issues are being addressed in a dedicated global development goal with detailed targets.

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5. Who is the most affected by this SDG (Where in the world is it more prominent)?

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5. Who is the most affected by this SDG (Where in the world is it more prominent)?

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India has a huge backlog of cases that are pending in the different courts, 31 million in subordinate courts; 4.35 million in high courts; and 58,669 in supreme court. They are implementing government initiatives to prioritize the strengthening of their judicial system.

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The Challenge

Violence is perhaps the most significant and destructive challenge to the development, growth, wellbeing, and the very survival of countries around the world. Fatalities resulting from armed conflict are rising in some parts of the world, causing mass displacement within countries and across borders, and resulting in massive humanitarian crises that adversely impact every aspect of our developmental efforts. Other forms of violence - crime and sexual and gender based violence - also remain a global challenge. Young people are especially vulnerable; 43% of all homicides globally involve young people between 10 and 29 years of age, and children make up a third of human trafficking victims worldwide. But violence can also take more insidious forms. The institutional violence of unaccountable legal and judicial systems, and depriving people of their human rights and fundamental freedoms all constitute forms of violence and injustice. Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost developing countries around USD1.26 trillion per year; money that could be used to lift many above the international poverty threshold of USD 1.90 a day for at least six years.

Why is this important?

The first step to fulfilling any aspect of the global sustainable development agenda for 2030 will begin with restoring security and human rights to individuals whose very lives and basic freedoms are under threat either due to direct violence or through institutional restrictions to justice. Many of the countries that did not achieve their Millennium Development Goal targets by 2015 were countries experiencing armed conflict and instability.

How can we address this?

Goal 16 is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building accountable institutions at all levels. National and global institutions have to be more transparent and effective, including local governance and judicial systems which are critical to the guarantee of human rights, law and order, and security.

India and Goal 16

In India, the judiciary is overburdened due to the large number of pending cases, with the backlog touching 35 million in June 2019 - 31 million cases pending in subordinate courts, 4.35 million in High Courts and 58,669 cases in the Supreme Court. India has prioritised the strengthening of justice through government initiatives including Pragati Platform, a public grievance redressal system, and the Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary including Gram Nyayalays for villages.

Targets

Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.

End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organised crime.

Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.

Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance.

By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.

Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.

Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international co-operation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.

Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.

Back to the main SDG page

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SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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Violence is perhaps the most significant and destructive challenge to the development, growth, wellbeing, and the very survival of countries around the world. Fatalities resulting from armed conflict are rising in some parts of the world, causing mass displacement within countries and across borders, and resulting in massive humanitarian crises that adversely impact every aspect of our developmental efforts.

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2. What are some programs that implement this SDG?

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2. What are some programs that implement this SDG?

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According to CAF American, here are programs that are implementing SDG 16:

American Friends of the Community Security Trust

Defence for Children International Palestine Fund

EIBF Scholarship Fund

Friends of CrossTalk Fund

Fondation Afriqu’ Espoir Friends Fund

GeneSpark.Org

Jamaheer Sport Organization

ORG Bahamas

The Tongabezi Trust School

Village Community Schools

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SDG #16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions - CAF America

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Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels. Below is a list of some organizations that are addressing this SDG: American...