Identity as a human right: G+D emphasizes importance for global development

According to World Bank estimates, around one billion people do not yet own a legal identity. However, this is absolutely essential for the protection of fundamental rights and the participation in social life. Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) therefore actively supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal of giving everyone a legal identity by 2030 and points out its importance.

A legal identity is the essential prerequisite for a person’s social, political and financial participation. Only a legal identity enables human beings to exercise their rights and duties in society, for example the right to vote and inherit. Legal identity is also indispensable for the access to health, social or financial services. Not only individuals, but also states benefit from the proof of identity and corresponding systems. The registration of all citizens of a country can contribute to dynamic economic development, for example through higher tax revenues for the state and better planning of sovereign tasks.

The United Nations (UN) emphasizes the high importance of a legal identity. It is an integral part of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at economic, social and environmental levels. In Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, the UN calls on all states to ensure that everyone has a legal identity by 2030. Against this background, the non-governmental organization ID4Africa has launched a movement to officially declare September 16 as “International ID Day“.

The basic prerequisite for a legal identity is to set up infrastructures and solutions for proof of identity and birth. Fundamental aspects here are a reliable registration system, proof of identity and protection against identity misuse. Above all, secure personalization and issuance of national identity documents such as birth certificates, passports, ID cards and driver’s licenses must be guaranteed.

Providing such solutions is one of the core competencies of the international technology group G+D. The company is the majority shareholder of Veridos, a leading global provider of integrated identity solutions. In a variety of projects, both companies have already built infrastructures for identity solutions ranging from ePassports to driver’s licenses. These include countries such as Bangladesh, Iraq and Uganda.

“We are convinced that legal identity is a human right. Only by owning it people can exercise their rights and duties in the modern world,” emphasizes Ralf Wintergerst, CEO of Giesecke+Devrient. “One of our core fields is the protection and safeguarding of identities. With our solutions, we want to support countries worldwide in the implementation of identity systems.”