migration status. If these underlying frameworks are not adapted to a context where
most people have never had proof of their right to live in a country, the drive to provide
and require identification documents can greatly exacerbate the exclusion of some even
as it increases inclusion for others. Even if some of the hyped identification initiatives
are delinked from such frameworks, no virtual identity validated through decentralized
digital means can substitute for government-issued proof of rights in the country where
a person lives (Manby 2016).
There is increasing awareness of the dangers of surveillance and misuse of data
in our digital world, but even less capacity to mitigate these risks in Africa than elsewhere. An equal focus is needed from scholars as well as policy-makers on the underlying laws and procedures that establish rights both to citizenship itself, and to fair adjudication where citizenship is in doubt. This need is not created by the use of biometric or
digital records, but made more urgent by the seduction and power of the new technologies. While it has been common to argue that citizenship and immigration law has had
limited influence on identity politics in Africa, the drive to create universal identification
systems will greatly increase its force—for good or for ill.
References
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Bennett, Colin J., and David Lyon, eds. 2008. Playing the Identity Card: Surveillance, Security
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Bøås, Morten, and Kevin Dunn. 2013. Politics of Origin in Africa: Autochthony, Citizenship and
Conflict. London: Zed Books.
Breckenridge, Keith, and Simon Szreter, eds. 2012. Registration and Recognition: Document
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Desai, Vyjayanti T., Alan Gelb, Julia Clark, and Anna Diofasi Metz. 2017. “Ten Principles on
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Strangers: States and Citizenship in Africa. Leiden: Brill.
Gelb, Alan, and Anna Diofasi Metz. 2018. Identification Revolution: Can Digital ID Be Harnessed
for Development? Washington DC: Center for Global Development.
Gelb, Alan, and Bronwen Manby. 2016. “Has Development Converged with Human Rights?
Implications for the Legal Identity SDG.” Views from the Center, Center for Global Development.
https://www.cgdev.org/blog/has-development-converged-human-rights-implications-legalidentity-sdg.
Geschiere, Peter. 2009. The Perils of Belonging: Autochthony, Citizenship, and Exclusion in Af
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