Nubian Rights Forum & 2 others v Attorney General & 6 others; Child Welfare Society & 9 others (Interested Parties) [2020] eKLR the SDGs form some of the national values and principles of governance under Article 10 of the Constitution. 516. Dr. Orengo stated that following the adoption and ratification of the SDGs in 2015, various multilateral and international organizations, including the World Bank, UNDP and UNICEF, have undertaken significant work and deployed resources to facilitate implementation of the goals. These organizations, of which Kenya is a member, have all stressed the critical role played by digital identity databases in realizing the SDGs. He cited in support of this averment the statement by the World Bank in its April 2015 report titled ‘Digital IDs for Development: Access to Identity and Services for All’ that official identification is more than a convenience; that it is a fundamental human right and is indispensable for connecting residents to electoral participation, educational opportunities, financial services, health and social welfare benefits, and economic development. He further deposed that it gives people a chance to better communicate with and be recognized by their government while giving governments the opportunity to listen and improve the lives of their citizens. 517. Dr. Orengo also cited a report titled ‘The Role of Identification in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’ issued by the World Bank on 1st April, 2015 where it was stated that the ability to prove one's identity is a cornerstone of participation in modern life and is basic to many of the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which rights include the right to a name, a nationality and to recognized family relationships on both the paternal and maternal sides. He noted that in its report titled ‘Principles on Identification For Sustainable Development: Toward The Digital Age’ issued on 2nd February, 2018, the World Bank had once again observed that living without proof of legal identity is a serious obstacle to social, economic, and political inclusion, and that it also makes it difficult for an individual to open a bank account, vote, obtain formal employment, access education or healthcare, receive a social transfer, buy a SIM card, or seek legal redress. 518. Dr. Orengo further noted the observations in the report that a person without identification may be unable to exercise the full range of human rights set out in international laws and conventions. Further, that weak civil identification systems also represent challenges for countries such as governance planning, service delivery, public sector administration, collecting taxes, border control and emergency response. He averred that the World Bank had also noted that the move towards digital platforms by public and private service providers can increase efficiency of service delivery, create significant savings for citizens, governments, and businesses by reducing transaction costs, as well as drive innovation. This can generate many benefits but can also exacerbate the risk of isolation for poorly-connected populations including rural and remote communities, the forcibly displaced, stateless persons and other marginalized groups. 519. The final report cited in support of the 8th Interested Party’s statement that digitization of identity is unstoppable is the research by McKinsey Global Institute in January 2019 titled ‘Digital Identification: A Key to Inclusive Growth.’ The report indicates that the Institute had found that digital identification has the potential to unlock economic value equivalent to 3 to 13percent of GDP in 2030, assuming high adoption rates. Further, the research also established that beyond quantifiable economic benefits, digital identification can offer non-economic value to individuals through social and political inclusion, rights protection and transparency. It noted that robust identity programmes can help guard against child marriage, slavery, and human trafficking. 520. It was Dr. Orengo’s position that the right digital identification technology, designed with the right principles and enforced with the right policies such as those formulated in Kenya, can protect individuals from the risk of abuse and enable the safe inclusion of billions in the digital economy. 521. The 8th Interested Party stated that by providing greater legal protection, digital identification can help in the elimination of child labor, currently estimated to affect 160 million children, by providing proof of age; fight child trafficking; help enforce laws against child marriage and thus contribute to its elimination; and contribute to the empowerment of women and girls worldwide. Dr. Orengo cited the case of Indonesia in which 95% of girls who http://www.kenyalaw.org - Page 77/174