Global Trust Registry

other

Project Details

P1136

#2502030

1.0

2025-01-08

2025-09-30

2026-07-30

Relevant SDG targets:

Improvements in digital trust and identity will impact several UN  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their associated targets:

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• Target 9.1: Develop resilient infrastructure to support economic development.

GTR Impact: Digital trust frameworks encourage innovation by providing secure infrastructure for e-commerce, research, and data sharing.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• Target 12.6: Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices.

GTR Impact: Digital identities for products (e.g., digital product passports) can improve supply chain transparency and accountability.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

• Target 16.5: Reduce corruption and bribery.
• Target 16.9: Provide legal identity for all.

GTR Impact: Digital identity and trust mechanisms strengthen governance, support transparency and non-repudiation, reduce the risk of fraud, and support universal legal identity.

UN Global Digital Compact Alignment 

The UN/CEFACT Trust Registry Project directly aligns with the goals of the UN Global Digital Compact by fostering digital trust and enhancing the integrity of identity systems in global trade.

Supporting Core Commitments

1. Trust and Security in Digital Ecosystems
• The project provides a global framework to verify identities using Digital Identity Anchors (DIAs) and verifiable credentials. This reinforces the Compact’s commitment to secure, trusted digital interactions.
2. Inclusivity and Interoperability
• By supporting a wide range of registers, the project ensures inclusivity for developing and transition economies. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) benefit from reduced costs and easier access to global trade systems.
• Using global standards like Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and JSON-LD vocabularies promotes interoperability, a key pillar of the Compact.
3. Fraud Reduction and Transparency

Digitally signed credentials replace paper-based certificates, preventing counterfeiting and enhancing supply chain transparency. This aligns with the Compact’s focus on reducing fraud and corruption in digital systems.

Project Purpose

Aligning with the commitments enshrined in the UN Global Digital Compact (https://www.un.org/global-digital-compact/en), this project is aimed at uplifting trust and integrity as well as equitable inclusion within the global digital and sustainable trade ecosystem.

Identifiers managed by authoritative registers are ubiquitous throughout the global supply chain.

For example:

• National (or state level in many cases) government run business registers.
• Land registers that define ownership of a geolocated boundary. Usually state level.
• Trademark registers that manage ownership of brands.
• All kinds of international domain specific registers such as the IMO register of ships or the BIC register of containers.
• An even larger number of national industry specific registers such as the Australian National Livestock Identification System (NLIS).

A characteristic of all these registers is that they generally have robust processes for managing the identity and status of registered members. They are the trusted authority. However, most registers issue paper or PDF registration certificates that are easily forged. There is often no easy and digitally verifiable way for a registry member (e.g. an Australian business with an Australian Business Number - ABN) to prove that they are the genuine owner of a given identifier.

Digitally verifiable evidence of membership will allow, for example a Business to prove their business identity (e.g. a VAT registration number) and link that proof to an issued invoice. So, a verifier will know that the invoice hasn’t been tampered and was genuinely issued by the specified VAT registered entity. However, this does assume that the verifier knows the ID and public key of the register itself. Given that there are thousands of authoritative registers around the world and that there is a risk of a malicious party masquerading as an authoritative register using a very similar domain name (e.g., without checking would you know whether https://www.bic-code.org/ or https://www.bic-containers.org is the authoritative register for container IDs? To counter this challenge, millions of verifiers would need to maintain a “allow-list” of thousands of authoritative identifier register schemes. This reveals a clear opportunity to simplify digital verification and reduce risk by maintaining a global register of registers.

Assuming trade documents are issued as verifiable credentials signed by the Decentralised Identifier (DID) of the issuer, then all verifiers can follow a simple verification model. 

• Is the digitally signed transactional credential (e.g. invoice) valid?
• Does the issuer identity match the ID in the related digital identity anchor (DIA) credential?
• Is the DIA issued by a register on the allow-list of trusted registers?

Through the DIA standard and the global trust registry, this project will add digital trust to the global supply chain.

As an additional value, the registry can maintain other useful metadata such as type, jurisdiction, and link resolver templates (i.e. given an ID, how to construct a URL that will return more information about that ID).

Project Scope

This project is global in scope – it will support registers in any country.

This project functional scope is the following types of authoritative register

• Business registers (to prove business / company authority)
• Land registers (to prove property rights)
• Product registers (to prove ownership of the product)
• Trademark registers (to prove ownership of the brand)
• Asset registers (to prove ownership of the ship, vehicle, or other equipment)

The project will define standards for

• Digital Identity Anchor (issued by register to their member)
• Global Trust Register (managed by UN and listing authoritative registers)

The project will also

• support at least two pilot implementations by each of four registry types (product, facility, asset, business) to verify the usability quality of the standards.
• Implement a trust registry pilot service (as a simple public file published to identifiers.uncefact.org or similar domain) managed in a similar way to vocabulary.uncefact.org.
• develop a governance framework for maintenance of the UN trust registry as a UNECE recommendation.
• develop implementation guidance materials for authoritative registers 

Project Deliverables

Deliverable 1: Digital Identity Anchor Requirements (BRS)
Deliverable 2: Global Trust Register Requirements (BRS)
Deliverable 3: Trust Register Governance Framework (Recommendation)
Deliverable 4: DIA credential Schema & vocab
Deliverable 5: Trust Register Pilot system
Deliverable 6: Implementation Guidance (Guidance)

Exit Criteria

The exit criteria will be:

Deliverable 1: Completes public review
Deliverable 2: Completes public review
Deliverable 3: Completes public review & UN/CEFACT Bureau / plenary approval
Deliverable 4: Two verifiable implementations
Deliverable 5: Two registered identity schemes
Deliverable 6: Two verifiable implementations

Impact analysis

Anticipated Tangible Results

1. Reduction in Fraud
• By leveraging Digital Identity Anchors (DIAs) and a globally accessible trust registry, businesses can verify the authenticity of identifiers (e.g., business registration numbers, trademarks) and trade documents. Fraudulent activities, such as invoice forgery, are mitigated through cryptographic signing and simplified digital verification models. This ensures that only credentials issued by recognized authoritative registers are trusted.
2. Improved Compliance through Automated Due Diligence
• Automated validation of trade credentials and identifiers reduces manual verification efforts, allowing businesses and regulators to comply seamlessly with trade policies.
• The trust registry framework will streamline due diligence processes by maintaining a "allow-list" of globally recognized registers, minimizing risks associated with domain impersonation or counterfeit registrations.
3. Reduction in Counterfeiting
• Trademark registers integrated into the trust registry will provide verifiable proof of brand ownership, reducing counterfeiting risks.
• Digitally verifiable certificates ensure that goods linked to product identifiers (e.g., land, trademarks, or assets) are authenticated, protecting intellectual property and brand integrity.
4. Reduced Trade Finance Gap
• By ensuring the authenticity of trade documents (e.g., invoices, consignment data), financial institutions gain confidence in funding trade transactions.
• The elimination of fraudulent practices in invoice financing and supply chain data strengthens trust in trade finance systems, reducing the estimated global trade finance gap.

Project Team Membership and Required Functional Expertise

Membership is open to UN/CEFACT experts with broad knowledge in the area of: Decentralised identity, digital trust, digital governance, identifier schemes for business, facilities, and products. 

In addition, Heads of Delegations may invite technical experts from their constituency to participate in the work. Experts are expected to contribute to the work based solely on their expertise and to comply with the UN/CEFACT Code of Conduct and Ethics and the policy on Intellectual Property Rights. https://unece.org/trade/documents/2010/12/session-documents/intellectual-property-rights-policy 

Geographical Focus

The geographical focus of the project is global.

Beneficiaries

1. Enabling Digital Trade in Developing Economies

• Access to Global Markets: The project removes barriers for businesses in developing economies by providing verifiable credentials and global trust standards, allowing easier integration into international trade systems.
• Simplified Compliance: Developing countries often lack the infrastructure for complex trade compliance processes. The project’s automated due diligence tools reduce the administrative burden, making it easier for businesses in these economies to meet international standards.

2. Benefits to Vulnerable Groups

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

• Enhanced Market Access: MSMEs often struggle with proving credibility in international trade. The project provides a digital trust framework that allows these businesses to showcase legitimate credentials (e.g., VAT numbers, business registrations), opening doors to global trade.
• Cost Efficiency: Automating verification processes reduces the costs associated with manual compliance, a significant benefit for resource-constrained MSMEs.
• Trust in Trade Finance: By validating trade documents like invoices, MSMEs can access trade finance more easily, narrowing the global trade finance gap.
  

Initial Contributions

This project builds upon work already completed by UNECE and partner organisations.

• VC White paper - https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/WhitePaper_VerifiableCredentials-CBT.pdf
• Digital Identity White paper - https://uncefact.unece.org/display/uncefactpublic/Digital+Identity+Standardization+for+Trade+Facilitation
• The United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTP) - https://uncefact.github.io/spec-untp/
• Digital Identity Anchor (DIA) specification - https://uncefact.github.io/spec-untp/docs/specification/DigitalIdentityAnchor
• BSP Supply chain JSON-LD vocabulary - https://vocabulary.uncefact.org/ - v 23B or later.
• ISO 18975 – Identifiers as URLs - https://www.iso.org/standard/85540.html 
• UNCITRAL Model Law on the Use and Cross-border Recognition of Identity Management and Trust Services  - https://uncitral.un.org/sites/uncitral.un.org/files/media-documents/uncitral/en/mlit_en.pdf

Resource Requirements

Project Proposal Files