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This element is critically important to ensuring that digital identity systems contribute to development that is inclusive and safe, and it advances progress towards the sustainable development goals. This requires consideration and understanding of use cases and should inform design and specification considerations. These should inform how digital identity systems are mandated to enable access to both government and private sector services - and to ensuring that the introduction of these systems as gateways to these services does not lead to exclusion. This also requires consideration around data collection, management and protection as well as planning for system use and applications. The User Benefit element includes the following sub-elements: ID requirements to access government services, ID requirements to access private sector services, Ensuring requirements do not cause exclusions and Data and planning.
ID requirements to access government services
Sub-element Detail
Anchor Questions
Rights Implications
Model Scenario
International standards
Legal and practical requirements to use the digital ID
Access to which government services is enabled by the digital legal ID?
Are there services a citizen cannot access without a digital legal ID?
Effective use of digital legal ID can enable quicker access to services; however, a requirement for digital legal ID may also create exclusion, if not well regulated.
Each service enabled by the digital legal ID should have exception based handling at all levels leading to accessing the same. The central nodal institution sets up a panel of experts representative of the socioeconomic diversity of the country to design these exception based handling processes. Based on user research and field survey, the panel recommends a list of alternative documents and processes to be put in place for minimising exclusion. The panel also provides governance advice on making sure these alternate processes are not time consuming. These recommendations are enforced by the nodal institution and implemented by the regional bodies. It applies to all public and private institutions delivering the service. The enrolment for digital legal IDs are not limited to biometric enrolment, and have other modalities too. Enrolment should not be a non-negotiable for accessing services linked to the digital legal ID.
Rights established by the ICCPR and ICESCR apply to this entire section: Basic human rights are an entitlement of all, and lack of identification, or the wrong sort of identity document, should not be a barrier. See especially UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. ‘General Comment No. 20: Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 2, Para. 2)’. E/C.12/GC/20. Geneva: United Nations, 2 July 2009. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/659980?ln=en
The World Bank Group 'A Digital Stack for Transforming Service Delivery: ID, Payments, and Data Sharing' (2022): https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099755004072288910/pdf/P1715920edb5990d60b83e037f756213782.pdf
The World Bank's ID4D 'Practitioner's Guide' (2019): https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/248371559325561562/pdf/ID4D-Practitioner-s-Guide.pdf
UK Government guidelines on accessibility: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps
Are the current procedures leading to any form of targeting, exclusion, or restriction of accessing services linked to digital legal ID?
By allowing people to use digital ID and/or physical ID, the government can ensure improved access to services for people (taking into account that a number of people do not have access to the internet, and some may not have digital ID).
What alternative forms of ID are accepted?
ID requirements to access private sector services
Sub-element Detail
Anchor Questions
Rights Implications
Example Scenarios
International standards
Ability to access private sector services (e.g., banking)
Is the digital legal ID enrolment required by law to access private services; if so, which? Does making enrolment mandatory increase exclusion? Are there cases in the country where this has happened?(e.g., banking).
By allowing people to use digital ID and /or physical ID, the government can ensure improved access to services for people (taking into account that a number of people do not have access to the internet, and some may not have digital ID).
Each service enabled by the digital legal ID should have exception based handling at all levels leading to accessing the same. The central nodal institution sets up a panel of experts representative of the socioeconomic diversity of the country to design these exception based handling processes. Based on user research and field survey, the panel recommends a list of alternative documents and processes to be put in place for minimising exclusion. The panel also provides governance advice on making sure these alternate processes are not time consuming.These recommendations are enforced by the nodal institution and implemented by the regional bodies. It applies to all public and private institutions delivering the service.The enrolment for digital legal IDs are not limited to biometric enrolment, and have other modalities too. Enrolment should not be a non-negotiable for accessing services linked to the digital legal ID.
Rights established by the ICCPR and ICESCR apply to this entire section: Basic human rights are an entitlement of all, and lack of identification, or the wrong sort of identity document, should not be a barrier. See especially UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. ‘General Comment No. 20: Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 2, Para. 2)’. E/C.12/GC/20. Geneva: United Nations, 2 July 2009. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/659980?ln=en
The World Bank Group 'A Digital Stack for Transforming Service Delivery: ID, Payments, and Data Sharing' (2022): https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099755004072288910/pdf/P1715920edb5990d60b83e037f756213782.pdf
The World Bank's ID4D 'Practitioner's Guide' (2019): https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/248371559325561562/pdf/ID4D-Practitioner-s-Guide.pdf
UK Government guidelines on accessibility: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps
Ensuring requirements do not cause exclusion
Sub-element Detail
Anchor Questions
Rights Implications
Example Scenarios
International standards
Active outreach for enrolment
Are government service access points actively used to advertise and ensure awareness of the need to enrol for digital legal ID? (e.g., health points for registration of births and deaths, other services promoting requirement to enrol for digital legal ID in place of existing legal ID).
The lack of sufficient public awareness on the need of digital legal ID will lead to exclusion from services.
The public awareness campaigns are conducted through different channels. Multi-lingual approach is used to reach out all the communities.
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division 'Handbook on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management Systems: Communication for Development' (2022): https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Handbooks/crvs/crvs-Idm-E.pdf
UNESCO 'Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace' (2003): https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/recommendation-concerning-promotion-and-use-multilingualism-and-universal-access-cyberspace?hub=66535
Role of nodal institutions
What are the nodal institutions at the sub-national level for implementing the ID program?
Decentralisation of identification can allow for local authorities to include known individuals within the identity system, this may increase data security, or ease access to services; however, it may also create opportunities for arbitrary decision-making or significant variability in service quality offered to users.
The nodal institutions at the sub-national level are established and/ or mobile nodal institutions are deployed to bring the servcies close to the people. The services are provided in a compliance with laws, regulations and standards of the operation to avoid arbitrary decision making.
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division ‘Handbook on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems: Management, Operation and Maintenance, Rev. 1’. Series F No. 72 (2021): https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Handbooks/crvs/crvs-mgt-E.pdf
Though the below are for CRVS system, the same principle should apply for national ID roll out.'CRVS System Improvement Framework' (2021): https://www.vitalstrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/CRVS-Systems-Improvement-Framework.pdf
Mechanisms in the absence of required (digital) ID
Is a person without the required ID referred to systems of recourse (see below) and assistance to ensure that they are able to be enrolled? Or are they simply refused access to the service?
If access points for government services are used as an opportunity to ensure enrolment for digital ID, while accepting other forms of legal identity documents in the interim, the government can ensure improved access to services, and broader enrolment in the digital ID system.
People without the required legal ID are guided on the process of obtaining the at the access point.
'The data revolution: finding the missing millions' (2015): https://odi.org/en/publications/the-data-revolution-finding-the-missing-millions
Peters, B. Guy, 'Civil Registration and Vital Statistics as a Tool to Improve Public Management', Inter-American Development Bank (2016): https://publications.iadb.org/en/civil-registration-and-vital-statistics-tool-improve-public-management
CRVS System Improvement Framework (2021): https://www.vitalstrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/CRVS-Systems-Improvement-Framework.pdf
Data and planning
Sub-element Detail
Anchor Questions
Rights Implications
Example Scenarios
International standards
Use of data from digital legal ID system for purposes of planning services
Is data from the digital legal ID system accessible to relevant agencies to plan services (e.g., number of schools, clinics, police); is the digital legal ID system designed to enable this use?How is data from digital legal ID supplemented with other sources to ascertain the total population, to understand who is not enrolled and plan for services to reach that population?
Use of anonymised data from digital ID systems can support national planning for service delivery.
Data from digital legal ID system is cross-referenced with other (survey /census) data on the target population. Coordination with public health function where vital statistics are relevant. Administrative data is used to identify groups and regions that are at risk of exclusion (such as patterns of low coverage of identity documents, or reasons for rejecting an application for an ID).
'The data revolution: finding the missing millions' (2015): https://odi.org/en/publications/the-data-revolution-finding-the-missing-millions
Peters, B. Guy, 'Civil Registration and Vital Statistics as a Tool to Improve Public Management', Inter-American Development Bank (2016): https://publications.iadb.org/en/civil-registration-and-vital-statistics-tool-improve-public-management
CRVS System Improvement Framework (2021): https://www.vitalstrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/CRVS-Systems-Improvement-Framework.pdf