IUSSP – Emerging ethics and human rights issues in the digitization of population register systems, 2022–2023

Efforts to modernize national population and civil register systems to make them useful for the purposes of inclusiveness and social protection are being undermined by the weak integration of ethical and human rights issues. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the challenges of increasing data automation infrastructures in environments where legal frameworks are under-developed, data protection standards and institutions are weak, and human rights are sidelined.
To make population register systems gender-sensitive, explicit and sustained efforts are required to support laws, data systems, institutions and an enabling environment. Previous efforts to strengthen the ethical and human rights foundations for civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems have been hampered by disciplinary boundaries and by the limited engagement of scholars in low- and middle-income countries.

The purpose of this project, led by the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP)’s Scientific Panel on Population Perspectives and Demographic Methods to Strengthen CRVS systems, is to infuse interdisciplinary perspectives (including law, public policy, demography and public health) into efforts to transform population data systems. It also aims to ensure stronger governance and increased transparency.

This will be achieved by recruiting three research fellows (in a manner that ensures diversity) and through research activities. Research outputs, case studies and potential recommendations will be documented in conference workshop reports and in an edited research volume. A series of multimedia resources and scholarly articles will be produced. This project will draw on the knowledge and resources generated by IDRC through the Centre of Excellence on CRVS Systems.