Page 44 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Technology, innovation and competition

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Technology, Innovation and Competition

1 Introduction

1.1 Context

This paper presents a summary of the considerations around the development and use of identity and
authentication services in digital financial services (DFS), with a specific emphasis on digital identities (also
known as electronic identities, or eIDs).

This document should be read with reference to the following ITU Recommendations, which address the wider
issues around the management of identity in data networks:

Recommendation ITU-T X.1252: “Baseline identity management terms and definitions”
Recommendation ITU-T X.1253: “Security guidelines for identity management systems”

Recommendation ITU-T X.1254: “Entity authentication assurance framework”

1.2 The UN and the 17 sustainable development goals (SDG)

Significant impetus to the development and deployment of digital identity systems and services has recently
come from their adoption at a UN Summit on 25 September 2015 by world leaders of the 17 SDGs of the
th
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . The SDGs build on the foundations of the millennium development
1
goals (MDGs).
st
The 17 SDGs came into force on 1 January 2016, and signatory countries are expected to take ownership and
establish a national framework for achieving the 17 Goals over the next 15 years.

Figure 1: The UN's sustainable development goals

Each of these goals has a number of clauses. Of particular relevance to this report is SDG Goal 16: “Promote
just, peaceful and inclusive societies”, and specifically the clause: “By 2030, provide legal identity for all,
including birth registration”.

1 http:// www. un. org/ sustainabledevelopment/

30