BUILDING STATELESSNESS-SENSITIVE ID SYSTEMS 8 SCOPE & TERMINOLOGY This publication is intended to foster statelessness-sensitive approaches that will benefit people who meet the international legal definition of a stateless person as well as people at risk of statelessness. For the purposes of this publication, all references to stateless people should be read to include those at risk of statelessness. Throughout this document, the terms “citizen”/“citizenship” and “national”/“nationality” are used fully interchangeably. Terms and Definitions Digital Public Infrastructure: The World Bank’s working definition of DPI per the DPI White Paper is an approach to digitalization focused on creating “foundational, digital building blocks designed for the public benefit.” Foundational Identification System: An identification system primarily created to manage identity information for the general population and provide credentials that serve as proof of identity for a wide variety of public and private sector transactions and services. Common types of foundational ID systems include civil registries, universal resident or national ID systems, and population registers (ID4D, Glossary). Functional Identification System: A system that provides official proof of identity and authorization for particular purposes or sectors. This typically includes identification systems that provide voter identification, ration cards, social security numbers, health cards, tax numbers, and more; in some cases, these credentials may also be recognized as proof of identity for other purposes or sectors. (ID4D Principles, 2022, p.4). Stateless Person: A person who is not considered a national by any State under the operation of its law. This definition comes from the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and is part of customary international law. People at Risk of Statelessness: This is a broad term that has no international definition and which for purposes of this publication includes but is not limited to all individuals who lack proof or recognition of any citizenship/nationality status but who may possess an entitlement to nationality, and if so, could be assisted to obtain proof of nationality by the relevant authorities. (Note that the International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics refer to such people as “Persons Without Recognized Nationality Status”).