Self-declaration of identity (Memdeklaro de identeco)

Link: https://epo.codeberg.page/memdeklaro/

Warning

ID documents do more harm than good and should not be seen as a solution for trust or authentication. Many economic and social interactions can be done anonymously. For other situations, trust can be achieved by simply saying your (self-chosen) name, using a web-of-trust, word-of-mouth reputation, vouches, memberships, escrows or cash deposits, and authentication can be achieved by using a password, cryptographic key pair (e.g. PGP, Bitcoin) or physical key or code (such as house keys or a safe code).
Background

In recent years, more and more things are asking for proof of identity, from basic necessities like jobs, housing and healthcare, to smaller things like receiving mail, buying a sim card or joining a gym. However, it is not enough to write your name and address on a form. Instead, only government-issued IDs are accepted, which gives the state a “monopoly on identity”.

Monopolies are dangerous in general due to the fact that if the service provider is harmful, inaccessible or otherwise problematic, you cannot choose a different provider, start your own provider, or go without. This particular monopoly is even worse, considering that access to government ID determines if you may participate in the economy (jobs, banking), society (housing, volunteer work, education, libraries, sports) or even exist (national borders).

Many people have no access to government ID. This group includes some stateless people, refugees, people who weren’t registered at birth, and people who escaped from child abuse, domestic abuse or cult abuse. The state’s claimed solutions, such as asylum procedures, stateless determination procedures, delayed registration of birth, child protective services and witness protection, often cannot help in practice, as the victim is often ignored, accused of lying, blamed for the persecution or sent back to the persecutors against their will. Despite issuing laissez-passer passports in the past, the United Nations and Red Cross do not issue alternative IDs today. It would be a relief if these processes would work and allow vulnerable people to escape from undeserved and dangerous situations, but unfortunately this is not the reality.

In addition, the collectivist concept of citizenship can be dangerous. For example, if someone does not identify with their birth culture, they should not be forced to follow it for life or identify themselves as a member of this culture. Instead, they should be free to dissent against this culture or leave this culture’s jurisdiction. Even worse is conscription - the cruel system where a nation-state can force someone against their will to kill or be killed, just because they happened to be born inside a certain territory. The world would be more free if people could exist as individuals, conscientious objectors against the fatalism of birth cultures and violence of statism, with freedom of association to leave hostile environments and join self-chosen communities.

“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

Self-declaration of identity gives people the power to decide their own fate. People are no longer the property of nations, governments, birth cultures or birth parents. The choice of your own name and renunciation of your circumstances of birth is a liberating act of individualism.
Self-declaration of identity

Instead of depending on third parties such as birth countries, birth cultures and birth parents to define an individual’s identity, the self-declaration allows you to define your own name and eschews the concepts of birth countries and citizenship.

The self-declaration is a CR-80 plastic card or paper business card (85.6mm x 54mm). The self-declaration is written in Esperanto and includes the Esperanto flag and symbol. Esperanto was chosen because it is anational (not associated with a specific country, culture or state) and was created as a borderless language of peace, built on voluntary free association. The design features artwork of a peace dove in a blue sky with clouds.

It includes the text:

    Title: Self-declaration of identity (Memdeklaro de identeco)
    Location: Esperanto community (Esperantujo)
    Issuer: EPO (ISO code for Esperanto)
    Quote: One world, one humankind (Unu mondo, unu homaro)

The self-declaration of identity includes:

    Self-chosen first name (Antaŭnomo) and self-chosen surname (Nomo) → an individual should be able to freely choose their own name
    Birth date (Naskiĝdato) → for declaration of age
    Photo → Dimensions 35mm x 45mm
    Signature (Subskribo) → sign your self-declaration
    Notes field (Notoj) → a place to write a note, e.g. “the holder is a conscientious objector” (Portanto estas konscienca obĵetanto)
    ID number (Numero), issuance date (Eldondato), expiry date (Limdato), issuer (Eldonisto), MRZ → bureaucratic boilerplate

The self-declaration of identity does not include:

    Place of birth → allows people to cut ties with hostile environments and self-define their culture, beliefs and personal ties
    Citizenship or stateless status → allows people to cut ties with hostile governments or cultures, and exist as an individual instead of as property of a state that they did not choose
    Parents’ names → allows victims of child abuse to cut ties with abusers

To make your own:

    Use the generator: Download this repo and open index.html in your browser
    Or download the front template (fronto.jpg) and back template (dorso.jpg) and use an image editor such as GIMP to add your text (the font OCR-B.ttf is provided) and your photo and signature
    Calculate the MRZ code here (TD1): https://www.dynamsoft.com/tools/mrz-generator/ or https://mrz.idtempl.com (Choose any country, then replace it with EPO)
    Print it out as a business card and optionally laminate (dimensions: 85.6mm x 54mm) or order a CR-80 plastic card from a printing service

Note:

Unfortunately the self-declaration of identity cannot be used to bypass government ID requirements, such as for jobs, housing, healthcare, receiving mail or buying a sim card. Other non-government IDs such as Digitalcourage Lichtbildausweis, World Passport and Sovereign Citizen documents have the same limitations.

Nation-states’ refusal to print IDs for undocumented, stateless and unregistered people (while forcing government ID requirements on employers, landlords, doctors and more) can and does put innocent people’s lives in danger. But unfortunately even the United Nations has not been able to change this, despite issuing conventions on statelessness and refugee status in the 1950s.
Further Reading

For further reading about identity (and why the state’s monopoly is harmful):

Passports Were a “Temporary” War Measure - Speranta Dumitru https://fee.org/articles/passports-were-a-temporary-war-measure

During World War II, we did have something to hide - Hans de Zwart https://medium.com/@hansdezwart/during-world-war-ii-we-did-have-something-to-hide-40689565c550

With each person left living on the streets, we are losing as a society - Petr Baroch https://www.statelessness.eu/blog/each-person-left-living-streets-we-are-losing-society

The rarely discussed dangers of KYC and what you can do about it - AnarkioCrypto https://vonupodcast.com/know-your-customer-kyc-the-rarely-discussed-danger-guest-article-audio

Exclusion and identity: life without ID - Privacy International https://www.privacyinternational.org/long-read/2544/exclusion-and-identity-life-without-id

Proving who I am: the plight of people in detention without proof of legal identity - Vicki Prais https://www.penalreform.org/blog/proving-who-i-am-the-plight-of-people/

Establishing identity is a vital, risky and changing business - The Economist https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2018/12/18/establishing-identity-is-a-vital-risky-and-changing-business

What’s in a name? The case for inclusivity through anonymity - Common Thread https://blog.twitter.com/common-thread/en/topics/stories/2021/whats-in-a-name-the-case-for-inclusivity-through-anonymity

True Names Not Required: On Identity and Pseudonymity in Cyberspace - DerGigi https://dergigi.medium.com/true-names-not-required-fc6647dfe24a

Citizenship is obsolete - Samuela Davidova https://medium.com/@DavidovaSamuela/citizenship-is-obsolete-c36a20056752
License

Public Domain