Impact of mobile technology

All children have the right to a legal identity from birth and the right to preserve that identity throughout their life. A birth certificate is a powerful document that can be an enabler to other fundamental rights, such as enrolling in school, accessing healthcare and getting social support.

Mobile services can be used to help formally register children immediately after they are born and help protect their legal identity over their lifetime – for example, through digital proof-of-identity. As children grow up, having a birth certificate gives them access to formal employment, opening a bank account and voting in elections. It can even help to protect them from child labour, child marriage and child trafficking.

Article 7, CRC: Birth registration, name, nationality, care
Article 8, CRC: Protection and preservation of identity