UNHCR concerned about slow registration of refugee children for Ethiopia’s digital ID program

The enrollment of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons for digital ID in Ethiopia has been ongoing since March, but the UN Refugee Agency is now warning that the pace of the activity is slow, especially for children, posing severe risks of exclusion.

The UNHCR voiced the concerns in its operational update on the country for the month of September, published on October 24. There were a million and sixty-nine thousand refugees and asylum seekers in Ethiopia as of September 30.

Ethiopia’s ID program and the UNHCR penned an MoU last October to facilitate the registration of children for the Fayda digital ID program.

The recent update notes that there have been “significant challenges” in birth registration for refuges and asylum seekers in the country, while the issuance of the Fayda digital ID is also relatively slow.

As of August 2024, the report indicates that only 12 percent of the more than 576,000 refugee children had gone through successful birth registration despite the importance of the activity which the UNHCR says “creates a permanent and legal record of the child’s existence, establishing their legal identity.”

“This lack of registration can lead to statelessness, restricted access to essential services, increased vulnerability to abuse and challenges in family reunification and legal protection,” the update states.

“Several factors have hindered comprehensive birth registration, including limited financial and human resources, inadequate registration infrastructure and security issues in regions like Oromia, Tigray and Amhara.”

The publication acknowledges that despite the efforts deployed by the Ethiopian government to advance the activity, several factors have acted as a hindrance, with the COVID-19 pandemic making things worse.

This has affected children in regions like Afar and Assosa, and in urban areas such as the capital Addis Ababa, according to the update.

To fast-track the registration progress, the UNHCR has prescribed “scaling up registration efforts by simplifying administrative procedures, expanding alternative mechanisms like mobile units, and raising community awareness through targeted campaigns.”

It has also emphasized the need to “integrate birth registration into broader programmes in health and education and calls for increased donor support and collaboration with the Ethiopian government to ensure all refugee children are registered and protected.”

With regard to ID cards, the brief discloses that a total of 11,210 refugees across Addis Ababa, Alemwach settlement and the Tsore and Kebribeyah refugee camps had received ID cards as of September, helping them improve their access to important services and facilitating their integration efforts.

When the registration of refugees and asylum seekers for the Fayda ID started early this year, the Ethiopia ID authority said it intends to register 77,000 in Addis Ababa before enrolling a further one million of those streaming in from neighbouring countries.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric enrollment  |  birth registration  |  children  |  digital ID  |  Ethiopia  |  Fayda  |  identity management  |  refugee registration  |  SDG 16.9  |  UNHCR