Civitas ID, developed with support from Idemia and UNDP, focuses on portable digital credentials to grant refugees and migrants access to essential services and economic life
A new digital identity platform, Civitas ID, designed specifically for the world’s displaced populations, was officially launched at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, seeking to address what experts call the “invisibility crisis.”
The initiative aims to bridge the global identity divide affecting the more than 123 million people currently displaced worldwide, who face severe barriers to economic participation due to a lack of formal documentation.
Speaking at the “Invisible Billion: Bridging the Global Identity Divide” panel, Civitas ID founder Colin Walsh described the issue as “one of the most profound issues of our time.” People fleeing conflict, fires, or natural disasters often cross borders without identity documents, leaving them unable to prove who they are, access basic services, and essentially “left in limbo.”
‘Identity Equals Dignity’
The urgency of the crisis was underscored by Keyzom Ngodup Massally, head of digital and AI programmes at the UNDP, who shared her personal experience as a refugee for the first 17 years of her life.
“I remember having my first identity and feeling like, ‘my god, I exist’ and it means so much,” Massally said, stressing that people need to move and migrate for safety, but face invisibility when crossing jurisdictions. “One moment when you have identity, and another moment when you don’t.”
Amit Sharma, head of digital strategy at Idemia and a member of Civitas ID’s global advisory council, framed the issue simply: “Identity equals dignity.” He explained that digital identity must provide access and security, with privacy by design at its core.
Sharma noted that while smartphone usage is high, increasing access to digital services also increases “threat vectors.” The challenge is enabling critical identity access for vulnerable individuals “in ways… that doesn’t also get exploited“ by bad actors like scammers or political activists.
Credentials As Key To Unlock Society
Walsh clarified that Civitas ID is not attempting to create a parallel identity. Instead, the focus is on credentialing—integrating documents and proofs of identity into the digital public infrastructure (DPI) of the host country.
He cited learnings from a recent trip to Colombia, which hosts a significant number of Venezuelan migrants. While many have initial identity documents, they need digital credentials to open businesses, work, and fully engage in society.
“It’s really this credentialing capability that unlocks access to these essential services, is what Civitas ID is all about,” Walsh explained.
The goal is to help migrants “reconstitute” employment and credit history and integrate with providers for payments, remittances, loans, and business access.
The experts acknowledged major operational hurdles, particularly around cross-border data sharing and ensuring data protection. Massally stressed that “jurisdiction permissions” must be carefully worked out, especially given the sensitivity that refugees fleeing certain regimes may not want their personal details shared with the governments they escaped.
As the panel concluded, the necessity of building a robust, multi-stakeholder coalition was emphasised. Massally called for a shift from national sovereignty to “individual sovereignty” as the guiding principle in resolving the global invisibility crisis.
