The Right of Registration: Development, Identity Registration, and Social Security—A Historical Perspective

Identity registration at birth is a UN proclaimed human right. However, it is not available in many of the world’s poorer countries today. A national system of identity registration dates from 1538 in England and was used by individual citizens to verify their property and inheritance rights and by local communities to verify social security claims. This facilitated the effective functioning of a nationwide social security system and a mobile market in both labor and capital, contributing to Britain’s pioneering process of economic development. Today identity and vital registration systems should also be a high priority for development policy as a democratic institution vital for turning the liberal rhetoric of rights into a reality of empowered individuals.