Rwanda’s digital ID rollout expands access for refugees

An ongoing biometric national ID registration drive in Rwanda is seen as a major chance for the government to strengthen digital inclusion of its vulnerable populations including thousands of refugees the country is hosting.

Early this month, officials of the National Identification Authority (NIDA) announced that over 4.4 million people had been enrolled as a nationwide registration campaign progresses. The government is aiming for a full nationwide digital ID rollout next year.

Among those being registered are refugees who are found in settlement camps and other urban areas of the country, according to SOS Média Burundi. One of the camps is Mahama which is host to an estimated 70,000 refugees, many of them from neighboring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As part of the registration, the refugees have their face, fingerprint and iris biometrics captured as the government aims to build a centralized biometric database that will facilitate identity verification for access to a multiplicity of public services.

The news outlet quotes some of the refugees as expressing high expectation for the digital ID system which they believe will improve their wellbeing and participation in the country’s digital economy. Others who have already received their ID cards confess that life has become easier for them as they have been able to open bank accounts of their own, and even buy SIM cards.

Refugee integration is one priority some countries are pursuing as they roll out their national digital ID systems. This as there is an increasing mindset shift from viewing displaced persons as mere aid recipients to being integrated members of the digital economy.

Ethiopia is one example where, in collaboration with partners like UNICEF, the identity authority of the country has been enrolling refugees for the Fayda digital ID, which is enabling them access a broad spectrum of services across many sectors.

For Rwanda, inclusion has been a deliberate choice shaped by the amendment in 2023 of the country’s identity legal framework to allow for the issuance of biometric ID to vulnerable groups including stateless persons and children.

The move signals the growing convergence of humanitarian protection and national digital infrastructure, as governments are realizing that excluding refugees from the formal digital economy creates long-term dependency, while including them can reduce the shadow economy and allow for better planning and even tax base expansion.

Article Topics

Africa  |  digital ID  |  National Identification Authority (NIDA)  |  refugee registration  |  Rwanda