Submission to the UNHCR’s Global Virtual Summit on Digital Identity for Refugees ‘Envisioning a Digital Identity Ecosystem in Support of the Global Compact on Refugees’

Abstract

We are grateful to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for this opportunity to contribute to deliberations about the creation of a digital identity ecosystem for refugees in support of the Global Compact on Refugees. The implications of establishing digital identity mechanisms for refugees are potentially very significant, and we are glad that the discussion is taking place. We are legal scholars working in the fields of development, digital technologies, displacement, international law and refugee law. Our submission highlights what we regard as key issues for consideration in the Global Virtual Summit and include both technical and social concerns, grouped as they relate to each of the Thematic Events.

Keywords: international humanitarian law, refugees, international law, international refugee law, digital identity, UN Refugee Agency