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IDENTITY DOCUMENTS RIGHT TO IDENTITY SDGs

From zero to digital hero – challenges and recent efforts to ensure legal identity for all

By on Monday, December 2, 2019

Approximately 1.1 billion people globally are without a legal identity[ref] https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/global-identification-challenge-who-are-1-billion-people-without-proof-identity [/ref].  The repercussions, both for states and for individuals are countless. And a solution is needed if we are to truly promote inclusivity and individuals’ access to their basic rights.

In this blog I review the recent conversations on legal identity for all and the direction of travel when it comes to solutions.  Is digital identity the answer to universal individual legal identity?  Or do we need to be pragmatic about what is realistic for many of those 1.1 billion excluded?

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CITIZENSHIP NATIONALITY

Iran takes steps to make its nationality law less discriminatory

By on Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Irans nationality law

I have written before about discriminatory nationality laws, specifically in relation to Nepal.  But Nepal is not the only country with this problem.  There are 25 countries in the world which still have discriminatory nationality laws.  Among them are Brunei, Kuwait, eSwatini, Liberia, the Bahamas, Barbados and Iran. Iran has recently been in the news for proposals which are set …

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CITIZENSHIP MINORITY RIGHTS STATELESSNESS

A framework for dignity – states recently acceded to the Statelessness Conventions

By on Sunday, October 6, 2019
Statelessness Conventions

In an earlier blog I considered some of the countries which had not yet acceded to the two Statelessness Conventions and which had no formal protective framework to avoid, reduce or mitigate the effects of statelessness. People are stateless or become stateless for many different reasons.  What they have in common, wherever they are in the world, is the effect …

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CHILDREN IDENTITY DOCUMENTS

Pro patria mori – child soldiers and legal identity

By on Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Child Soldiers

In this blog I take a closer look at the issue of legal identity and birth registration for a particularly vulnerable group of children – child soldiers. At times of conflict, when children are at risk of human rights violations, and, in some places, at risk of being recruited or used in hostilities, legal identity and birth registration becomes even …

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Blog The Torn Identity

Summer Break for the Torn Identity Blog

By on Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Summer Break

There is no guarantee that the British Summer will happen this year, but, just in case… The Torn Identity Blog will take a short summer break, returning in August for more on legal identity, belonging, citizenship and statelessness. If, like me, you are travelling this summer – for pleasure or to join friends and family – spare a thought for …

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IDENTITY DOCUMENTS RIGHT TO IDENTITY

What the recent elections in Nigeria can tell us about the relationship between voter registration, biometrics and a credible legal identity

By on Monday, May 6, 2019
Nigeria Elections

Recently Nigeria held federal elections to elect a new president. The elections were finally held on 23 February after some last-minute delays caused the original date of 16 February 2019 to be abandoned. I focus on the elections in Nigeria because they provide an insight into the wider issues of how to achieve a credible legal identity and adequate identity …

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CITIZENSHIP IDENTITY DOCUMENTS STATELESSNESS

I am a person from here – the Sabah stateless struggling without citizenship in Malaysia

By on Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Sabah stateless

In this blog I consider the stateless population in Sabah state, part of Malaysia, how and why they are in this precarious position and what, if anything, Malaysia is doing to reduce the number of stateless people in Sabah.   Who are the Sabah stateless? Sabah is a state in Malaysia and part of the island of Borneo.  Sabah became …

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IDENTITY DOCUMENTS MINORITY RIGHTS RIGHT TO IDENTITY

A single source of truth – Can the Huduma Namba succeed as an integrated identity management system in Kenya?

By on Monday, March 18, 2019
Huduma Namba Kenya

The recent announcement by the Kenyan government that the full Huduma Namba or NIIMS scheme will be rolled out across the country has met with much criticism from the public, from economists, academics, lawyers and human rights groups. But what is the Huduma Namba? And why has it caused so much controversy?   A new number for an improved legal …

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CITIZENSHIP MINORITY RIGHTS STATELESSNESS

You can’t go home again: the plight of Syria’s stateless Kurds

By on Monday, March 4, 2019
Plight Stateless Kurds

“You have stumbled on in darkness, you have been pulled in opposite directions, you have faltered, you have missed the way, but, child, this is the chronicle of the earth. And now, because you have known madness and despair, and because you will grow desperate again before you come to evening, we who have stormed the ramparts of the furious …

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CHILDREN IDENTITY DOCUMENTS RIGHT TO IDENTITY

The politics of registering children: a second look at legal identity for children

By on Thursday, January 17, 2019
Birth Registration

In this blog I take a second look at legal identity for children in light of South Africa’s recent proposals to refuse to issue birth certificates to children born in South Africa to foreign parents. I look at the new proposals which have attracted much criticism and consider attempts elsewhere to do the same. The impact of restricting birth registration …

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