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2025-08-07 1627 AEST

Aug 7, 2025

UN CEFACT GTR Project - AUS / EU​

Invited John Phillips Jo Spencer Steve Capell Alina Nica Gales Anthony De Souza

Attachments UN CEFACT GTR Project - AUS / EU

Meeting records Transcript Recording

Summary​

John Phillips welcomed new participants Arjen Ketelaar and Ivan Marin to the UN/CEFACT Global Trust Registry (GTR) project meeting, where the Digital Identity Anchor (DIA) work was discussed and is slated for transfer to the GTR project for broader development. Steve Capell presented the DIA, explaining its function in binding product passport issuers' identifiers to authoritative identities to form a chain of trust. Ivan Marin detailed GLEIF's role as a non-profit foundation issuing LEI codes for global legal entity identification. The participants, including John Phillips, Steve Capell, Alina Nica Gales, Arjen Ketelaar, and Ivan Marin, discussed how GTR could relate to existing systems like GLEIF, exploring potential cooperation and distinguishing between different levels of authority and trusted identifier issuers.

Details​

  • Meeting Introduction and Participant Introductions John Phillips welcomed participants to the UN/CEFACT Global Trust Registry project meeting, noting the recording of the session and the presence of new joiners (00:00:00). Arjen Ketelaar from the Port of Rotterdam and Ivan Marin from the Global Legal Entity Identification Foundation (GLEIF) introduced themselves, with Ivan Marin emphasizing GLEIF's role in promoting LEI codes for identifying legal entities globally (00:00:57). John Phillips highlighted that GLEIF would be a main topic of discussion (00:02:05).

  • Meeting Agenda and Code of Conduct John Phillips outlined the agenda, which included discussions on digital identity anchor work and GLEIF (00:03:12). He also mentioned the publicly available code of conduct and intellectual property rules for UN/CEFACT projects, emphasizing an open standards and royalty-free approach for contributions (00:04:06). Participants who have applied to be UN/CEFACT experts can contribute actively upon confirmation, while others can observe and contribute to discussions (00:05:01).

  • Digital Identity Anchor (DIA) Work Steve Capell presented the Digital Identity Anchor (DIA) work, part of the UN Transparency Protocol (UNTP), which supports decentralized supply chain traceability and transparency through verifiable credentials (00:06:01). He explained that DIA binds the identifier of a product passport issuer to an authoritative identity, forming a chain of trust (00:07:10). The concept of linking an issuer's identity to an authoritative identity applies to various use cases beyond sustainability and product passports, leading to its proposed transfer to the Global Trust Registry (GTR) project for broader development (00:09:03).

  • Transition of DIA to GTR Project John Phillips and Steve Capell discussed the process of moving the DIA content from UNTP's GitLab repository to the new GTR project's GitLab site (00:11:05). They aim to transfer valuable content and unresolved issues to the GTR repository within the next two weeks, ensuring continuity while starting a new phase of development in the GTR space (00:12:24) (00:15:50). John Phillips emphasized making the new environment accessible for contributions, recognizing that not all contributors are familiar with source control repositories (00:15:10).

  • Relationship with Existing Systems like GLEIF John Phillips emphasized the need to consider how the GTR project relates to existing systems like GLEIF, which has a significant role in trade discussions (00:15:50). Steve Capell raised the question of whether the GTR should limit itself to registrars passing strict authority criteria or if this could be an attribute within a broader directory that distinguishes between different levels of authority (00:16:59).

  • GLEIF's Role and Operations Ivan Marin elaborated on GLEIF's role as a non-profit Swiss foundation, established to identify legal entities globally in a consistent manner (00:23:57). He explained that Local Operating Units (LOUs) issue LEI codes, undergoing strict audit processes, and that the global LEI database is publicly accessible (00:20:32) (00:26:17). Ivan Marin clarified that GLEIF does not aim to replace existing identifiers but rather to provide an additional layer of security and identification to combat financial fraud and illicit capital usage (00:29:52).

  • Discussion on LEI and National Registers Steve Capell questioned the added value of GLEIF as national registers become more capable of issuing verifiable proof of membership (00:37:37). John Phillips and Alina Nica Gales suggested that GLEIF offers a valuable quality control and testing process that complements what typical registrars do, stemming from its anti-money laundering and financial fraud origins (00:38:47). Alina Nica Gales also raised concerns about LEI's applicability beyond business registers to other areas like land or asset registries, suggesting the GTR should apply globally across various fields (00:38:47).

  • GTR's Model and Cooperation with GLEIF John Phillips presented the GTR's ambition to recognize authoritative registrars across various trade participants and assets, acknowledging that GLEIF's current footprint is specific to legal entities (00:41:29). He proposed that the GTR's authoritative list of registrars could serve as a valuable cross-referencing tool for GLEIF's registration authorities list, highlighting a potential area of cooperation (00:43:41). John Phillips also suggested treating GLEIF as a "trusted identifier issuer" rather than an authoritative registrar in the same sense as legally anchored jurisdictional registrars, an approach that could be applied to other organizations like GS1 and Dun and Bradstreet (00:48:24) (00:53:27).

  • Future Outlook and Engagement John Phillips concluded the meeting by encouraging continued asynchronous discussion on the project's web chat, email, or Slack channel. He stated that the project team would document recommended ideas and decisions based on the feedback received, aiming to progress the GTR project in a way that allows for cooperation with organizations like GLEIF while maintaining its distinct focus on authoritative registrars (00:53:27).

Suggested next steps​

  • John Phillips will document the recommended ideas about decisions and get feedback on how the project should progress.

  • John Phillips and Steve Capell will transfer the content from the current project space to the new GitLab pages for the Global Trust Registry project within the next two weeks.