{"id":23012,"date":"2019-06-18T08:40:16","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T08:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/?p=23012"},"modified":"2019-07-02T08:44:40","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T08:44:40","slug":"address-by-south-africas-minister-of-international-relations-and-cooperation-dr-naledi-pandor-at-the-5th-annual-meeting-of-the-id4africa-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/address-by-south-africas-minister-of-international-relations-and-cooperation-dr-naledi-pandor-at-the-5th-annual-meeting-of-the-id4africa-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Address by South Africa\u2019s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, at the 5th Annual Meeting of the ID4Africa Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi<\/span><\/p>\n

Exec<\/span>utive Chairman of ID4Africa, Dr<\/span> Joseph A<\/span>tick<\/span><\/p>\n

African government officials<\/span><\/p>\n

Representatives of i<\/span>nternational agenc<\/span>ies<\/span> and development organisations<\/span>, <\/span><\/p>\n

Industry experts<\/span><\/p>\n

Distinguished guests<\/span><\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen,<\/span><\/p>\n

I am pleased to have the honour of addressing<\/span> the <\/span>5<\/span>th<\/span> Annual Meeting of the ID4Africa Movement<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

This<\/span> Annual Meeting has become <\/span>an appropriate<\/span> place <\/span>for sharing<\/span> experiences and best practice<\/span>s<\/span>.<\/span> It allows for <\/span>the identification of<\/span> challenges in the context of development, and <\/span>for <\/span>set<\/span>ting<\/span> priorities for the identity communit<\/span>y<\/span>. <\/span>We<\/span> are <\/span>pleased to note that<\/span> you have <\/span>attracted <\/span>o<\/span>ver 1500 delegates from 95 countries, including 50 African nations <\/span>and <\/span>over 650 decision-makers from a cross-se<\/span>ction of government stakeholders are participating in the meeting<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are especially pleased at <\/span>the participation of <\/span>represent<\/span>atives of <\/span>international organizations such as <\/span>the <\/span>U<\/span>nited <\/span>N<\/span>ations<\/span> Development Programme<\/span>, U<\/span>nited <\/span>N<\/span>ations<\/span>Children\u2019s Fund<\/span>, U<\/span>nited <\/span>N<\/span>ations<\/span> Statistics Division<\/span>, U<\/span>nited <\/span>N<\/span>ations<\/span> H<\/span>igh <\/span>C<\/span>ommissioner on <\/span>R<\/span>efugees<\/span>, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Asia<\/span>n <\/span>Development Bank, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Organization for Migration.<\/span><\/p>\n

We note with appreciation<\/span>,<\/span> participation of government representatives of the Netherlands, <\/span>Denmark, France, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Philippines<\/span> and Japan<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge of <\/span>ensuring efficient, accurate and consistent<\/span> civic registration on our continent was raised sharply at <\/span>the first conference of African Ministers responsible for civil registration, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,<\/span> in August 2010, <\/span>organised <\/span>jointly <\/span>by the UN Economic Commission for Africa<\/span>,<\/span> the African Development Bank<\/span>, the African Union Commission<\/span> and the Federal Republic of Ethiopia.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2010 ministerial conference <\/span>explored ways of <\/span>improving civil registration and vital statistics systems in Africa, a critical focus area it had <\/span>extracted<\/span> from the regional workshop on civil registration and vital statistics systems <\/span>earlier <\/span>convened <\/span>in <\/span>Tanzania, in June 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Africa <\/span>has made significant progress <\/span>on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics <\/span>and <\/span>to <\/span>serve as a model <\/span>in light of its rate of coverage, outreach programmes, community participation and online <\/span>birth <\/span>re<\/span>gistration in h<\/span>ealth facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>terms of our policy<\/span>, <\/span>c<\/span>ivil <\/span>r<\/span>egistration <\/span>denote<\/span>s<\/span> continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events pertaining to the population as provided through regulations in accordance with legal requirements of <\/span>respective <\/span>countr<\/span>ies.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, South Africa hosted the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Conference in <\/span>Durban.<\/span> African countries were encouraged to <\/span>continue <\/span>develop<\/span>ing<\/span> policies, systems and<\/span> legal frameworks.<\/span><\/p>\n

That work has not <\/span>yet <\/span>been completed<\/span>. <\/span>This is<\/span> evidenced by the themes of th<\/span>is<\/span> 2019 ID4Africa Annual Meeting.<\/span> We still have <\/span>i<\/span>nstitutions responsible for public administration and social services <\/span>that <\/span>do not have <\/span>basic personal data and information <\/span>necessary <\/span>for managing and monitoring <\/span>their<\/span> mandated functions <\/span>public resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

We <\/span>are <\/span>therefore <\/span>pleased<\/span> ID4Africa has <\/span>broadened that work. <\/span>It <\/span>now includes<\/span> diverse\u00a0<\/span>s<\/span>takeholders, from government, the private sector and international agenc<\/span>ies and donors. <\/span>This we welcome<\/span>, precisely because <\/span>collaboration among these stakeholders will ensure we overcome persistent <\/span>deficiencies in civic registration <\/span>and <\/span>identification systems<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a multi-stakeholder movement<\/span>,<\/span> ID4Africa <\/span>has a role to play in<\/span> promot<\/span>ing<\/span> transparent and responsible adoption of digital identity by various states on <\/span>the<\/span> continent<\/span>.<\/span> Since its inception, in 2014, it has emer<\/span>ged as a <\/span>forum <\/span>providing a <\/span>platform for government agencies to develop expertise, share experiences and<\/span><\/a> build capacity around the impo<\/span>rtant subject of how digital <\/span>identity can support a wide range of government services for citizens an<\/span>d for accelerating development broadly.<\/span><\/p>\n

I trust that this 5<\/span>th<\/span> Annual Meeting<\/span>,<\/span> in South Africa<\/span>,<\/span> will assist ID4Africa <\/span>to <\/span>pursu<\/span>e<\/span> i<\/span>ts primary objectives, includ<\/span>i<\/span>ng:<\/span><\/p>\n