According to statistics from the United Nations Refugee Agency, there are 25.4 million refugees in the world and some 3.1 million asylum seekers. On this year’s World Refugee Day, we’re reminded of the perpetual crises that plague our international communities and the displaced individuals they create.
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For those in the blockchain industry, today may also serve as a reminder for how the new technology may provide a solution. With the ability to keep consistent, immutable tabs on digital identities, blockchain technology could rewrite how we record state-issued IDs in a digital age.
To Joseph Thompson, the co-founder of AID:Tech[2], a company using blockchain technology to “provide enterprise level solutions to international NGOs, governments and corporates to help them tackle some of [the] most entrenched issues in their fields,” refugees are in need of an identity solution.
“Refugees, especially those in protracted crises, are vulnerable, particularly when we look at the challenge of identity. Not only do refugees need to reformulate their personal identity to secure a sense of belonging, but also it’s imperative from a legal, social, and political perspective. Needless to say, the issue is more complex than simply assigning each individual an identity card, as global crises happening throughout the world are different and varied with refugees and their situations,” he said in a statement.
The UN, Thompson claims, “has highlighted identity within the Sustainable Development Goals with the World Bank introducing guiding principles on how identification systems should be designed.” These are “encouraging signs,” he believes, but says that there is still “significant progress to be made” to address issues surrounding identity for the vulnerable.
“An effective identity solution needs to be flexible, reliable and sustainable while also accommodating the transitional circumstances often faced by refugees. This is particularly crucial and alarming
