The frameworks and know-how do exist to provide legal documentation to the nearly 10% of the world’s population who do not have it. Now, funding is needed for the development and implementation of legal identity systems and to address the broader social and economic challenges that can prevent people from obtaining legal identity.
The principle of “leaving no one behind” is the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. Unfortunately, this promise is at risk of being broken for those who do not possess legal documentation. This is often due to the difficulty and cost of reaching people across whole territories, coupled with the need for stronger capacities within national systems, but it can also be a more deliberate attempt to exclude certain groups and populations.
The globally recognized frameworks in place to address this challenge include Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights for example, or SDG target 16.9: “legal identity for all, including birth registration” by 2030. These and more promote the principle of a right to birth registration.
Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
About the authors
Haoliang Xu
Haoliang Xu is U.N. assistant secretary-general and UNDP assistant administrator and director for the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support.
Sarah Lister
Sarah Lister is UNDP’s head of governance and oversees policy and program support to its governance portfolio globally, including electoral cycle support, parliamentary development, anti-corruption, information integrity, digital governance, legal identity, youth empowerment, and disability inclusion. She is also the co-chair of the U.N. Legal Identity Agenda Task Force.
