Legal Identity in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Lessons from Kibera, Kenya

Goal 16.9 of the United Nations global goals for sustainable development calls for states to provide “legal identity for all, including birth registration” by 2030.

But those working on implementing and monitoring goal 16.9 face a question: how to most accurately and effectively measure legal identity, and therefore track progress on the implementation of the goal.

This report is a practical effort to address this question for a global audience, drawing on recent research conducted in one national context, Kenya.

The analysis suggests that in order to fully monitor progress in providing universal legal identity, supplementary and regionally or country-specific indicators are necessary in addition to a global birth registration indicator.

The goal of this report is to contribute to the global conversation around goal 16.9, rather than speak to specific debates surrounding policies, initiatives or legislation in Kenya.