Legal Identity in the Sustainable Development Goals

The issue of legal identity has seen in recent years a rapid ascent on the agendas of national and international policymakers. Most significant was its inclusion into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which now aim to “provide legal identity for all” by 2030. A proliferation of registration and identification initiatives has accompanied the implementation of this goal, with little scholarly scrutiny. Supported by a University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher grant, this project seeks (1) to map and conceptualise the emerging legal identity field, including the actors, policies and practices constituting the field (through desk review); and (2) to examine its implementation and effects through piloting fieldwork.