The Kenyan government plans to digitalise civil and person registration, introducing a Unique Personal Identification (UPI) and Digital ID.
Amnesty International Kenya, in partnership with Strathmore University, Centre for Intellectual Property Information and Technology Law policy paper, urges a crucial approach to this digital transformation with a balanced perspective that respects human rights.
The implementation of Digital ID systems must prioritize privacy, data security, and inclusivity to ensure that individuals’ rights are protected.
The Policy paper urges for the roll-out of a rights-respecting Digital ID system, conducting a data protection impact assessment to evaluate the privacy and security risks mitigation measures and serve as an integral tool in demonstrating compliance and avert the exclusion of migrant communities, marginalized groups and communities who are at risk of exclusion on the lines of sex, gender and level of education.
The policy paper provides academic views on the next steps, the need, justification, principles, benefits and challenges of the UPI and digital ID in Kenya. It also provides a comparative analysis of the digital ID system successfully rolled out in India. Though not discussed at length, the paper also examined digital ID systems in Estonia, Mauritius, Germany, Portugal and Pakistan. This policy paper is, therefore, an advisory document.