More than 1.1 billion people lack identification

People fear to be identified from one ethnic group or from one nationality.

Carolina Trivelli

WASHINGTON: More than 1.1 billion people worldwide officially don’t exist – going about their daily lives without proof of identity.

The issue leaves a significant fraction of the global population deprived of health and education.

Among these “invisible people” – many of whom live primarily in Africa and Asia – more than one third are children susceptible to violence whose births have not been registered, the World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) program recently warned.

The problem is particularly acute in geographical areas whose residents face poverty, discrimination, epidemics or armed conflicts.

Vyjayanti Desai, who manages the ID4D program, said the issue arises from a number of factors, but cited the distance between people and government services in developing areas as major.

For populations near the Peruvian Amazon, for example, traveling to an administrative service can take some five days of transit by boat, according to Carolina Trivelli, Peru’s former development minister.

Many families are also simply not informed about the importance of birth registration – and the consequences of non-registration, which can include the denial of basic rights and benefits, or an increased likelihood of marrying or entering into the labour force under-aged.

And even if parents are aware, costs can be crippling, said AnneSophie Lois, representative at the United Nations in Geneva and director of the children’s aid organization Plan International.

Millions of children in Africa and Asia encounter the administration only once they reach school age.

But “birth certificates are often needed to enrol in school” or take national exams, Lois said.

“The political climate also discourages many families from being officially identified.

“People fear to be identified from one ethnic group or from one nationality,” said Trivelli.

“The government has sometimes – sadly – preferences for some groups rather than another.”

Births of children born out of wedlock or as a result of rape are sometimes deliberately concealed for fear of discrimination.

In China, avoiding birth registration was also deliberate for years for fear of repercussions due to the one-child policy.

These children can also fall victim to human trafficking.

“The legal invisibility of unregistered children makes it more likely that their disappearance and exploitation will go unnoticed by authorities,” Lois said.

To combat this immense problem, organisations are patiently working on the ground to identify these “invisible” people.

Digital technologies have provided a tremendous boost, Lois said, as a way to “increase registration, provide legal documentation of vital events and produce statistics that are complete and accurate.”

Trivelli said it also helps that “technology is getting lighter – you can go to the people with very small devices” to gather biometric data.

Plan International, which launched the campaign “Every Child Counts” in 2005, has contributed to the registration of more than 40 million children in 32 countries.

Village leaders can download a mobile app capable of notifying the government of births and deaths in their villages.

“Digital birth registration systems not only provide children with a legal identity but also provides governments with a continuous source of information,” Lois said.

“This allows them to plan e for all services that a child needs.”

The World Bank recognises, however, that centralised identification systems could expose vulnerable groups to risks linked to misuse.

“To have a legal framework in place that protects privacy and personal data is key,” Desai said. — AFP