Vickie Remoe Institute of Digital Communications

UNDP Supports National ID Systems in Sierra Leone

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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says it is supporting civil registration and national ID systems in Sierra Leone and 24 other countries. This falls under the UN Legal Identity project and aims to support governments and citizens in dealing with internal displacements.

 The UN agency said in a tweet that over one billion people globally are without proof of identity either paper-based or digital, which is fundamental to human rights. Sustainable Development Goal 16 is to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” Under that goal, Target 16.9 specifies that one of the ways to do that is to “By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.”

 UNDP and its partners are helping the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) to revise policies to integrate the Internally Displaced People (IDPs), and stateless population so the people who do not have legal documents can acquire a National Identification Number (NIN).

Acquiring the NIN means having a driver’s license, being able to get employment and most importantly, having an identity. For the government, it means keeping track of revenues generated from taxes, reduced corruption, proper checks and balances and increased security. 

NCRA said the NIN can also be used to access different services which include, but are not limited to Work and Resident Permit, Business Registration, Land and Property Registration, Financial and Bank Transactions, NASSIT and School/University Enrolment.

This will also prevent fraudulent activities, according to NCRA’s Director General, Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, who said there are people with multiple names and with documents to support each name. He added that they have partnered with some institutions to help verify the details of any requested individuals.

Other countries benefiting from this scheme include Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and Palestine.

The UN Legal Identity Agenda Task Force, co-chaired by UNDESA, UNDP, and UNICEF, aims to assist UN Member States to enable more than 300 million people to acquire a legal identity by 2025.

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