Billion People Without Legal Identity
The world’s population has now reached the landmark figure of eight billion people, according to the United Nations. However, one billion people still have no legal identity and are thus excluded from social participation and the opportunities of the modern world. About 237 million children under the age of five do not have a birth certificate. With this having serious implications for those individuals, Veridos is committed to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of giving all people a legal identity by 2030.
“A legal identity is the prerequisite for modern life in a connected world. Only a legal identity enables to uphold fundamental rights and participate in social, political and financial life,” explains Marc-Julian Siewert, CEO at Veridos. “We firmly believe that a legal identity is a human right. That’s why we are striving to develop both secure and innovative identity technologies that enable governments to guarantee this right to their citizens.”
Official identity documents, such as passports and birth certificates, do not only establish a sense of belonging for individuals, but they also guarantee them access to social benefits and services such as healthcare, education, humanitarian aid and financial support. They also enable them to exercise fundamental rights such as the right to vote or inherit.
Internationally recognized documents enable people to travel across borders for business and tourism. But they also allow them to receive medical care abroad or pursue specialized or technical education in foreign countries. Finally, identities give citizens secure access to important services for economic growth, such as setting up a bank account.
For these reasons, Veridos supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which calls on all countries to provide all citizens with a legal identity by 2030. Veridos is a member of the United Nations Global Compact, a worldwide pact between the UN and companies for the social and ecological shaping of globalization.
