Among the explosion of different initiatives supporting the rollout of digital identity systems, the idea of “inclusive” ID has gained traction within the development sector. The World Bank’s Identification for Development Initiative, which supports the creation of “inclusive and trusted digital ID” to unlock opportunities for the most vulnerable, has set the tone of inclusive ID discourse.1 Similar endorsement of the concept comes from USAID,2 the Gates Foundation,3 McKinsey,4 Women in Identity,5 and even the UK’s trade association for the digital technology sector.6 This emphasis on inclusive ID is built on the observation that lack of a stateregistered legal identity—and the credentials (such as a birth certificate or national identity card) that enable proof of that identity for a variety of public and private transactions—results in significant exclusion from access to rights and services in many (all?) countries across the world. The agenda set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) does indeed imply that states should “provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.”7 Others, however, have warned of the dangers of the rapid rollout of new biometric and digital identification technologies to fulfill this target, and the risk of enabling surveillance without ensuring rights. These perspectives highlight not only questions of data protection, privacy, and data justice,8 but also of creating “inclusion without voice”9 and exacerbating “exclusion by design.”10 This briefing picks up on these debates in the specific context of the risks of new identification systems for those who are, or may be, stateless. It argues that inclusion or exclusion is not the correct metric to measure whether a digital ID system is beneficial to those who previously lacked identity documents. The simple fact of inclusion in a new identity register does not address, and may in fact worsen, the status of people whose nationality11 is denied or in question. Without specific measures to ensure that nationality is recognized or granted, whether by the state of residence or another state, new identification systems will generally replicate or intensify existing patterns of exclusion.12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ID4D, “Inclusive and Trusted Digital ID Can Unlock Opportunities for the World’s Most Vulnerable.” See also World Bank, Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development. USAID, Identity in a Digital Age: Infrastructure for Inclusive Development. Singh, “Digital IDs Are an Effective Tool against Poverty. A Global Solution Is Making Them Available to Millions.” McKinsey & Company, Digital ID: A Key to Inclusive Growth. Women in Identity, “Women in Identity Launch Code of Conduct Project, Challenging Digital Identity Teams to Create More Inclusive Solutions.” Burgess, “Ethical and Inclusive Digital Identity.” UN, “Sustainable Development Goal 16.” Cioffi, “Beyond Mitigation.” Farhat, “Paving a Digital Road to Hell?” Access Now, “The Digital ID Toolkit.” See also Engine Room, Digital IDs Rooted in Justice. In international law, a synonym for citizenship. Terms used at national level vary across different legal systems. Manby, “The Sustainable Development Goals and ‘Legal Identity for All.’” Statelessness and digital identity 5