UNHCR praises Cameroon’s move towards inclusive legal identity

A recent action by the government of Cameroon to spell out modalities for the issuance of new-generation national ID cards to its citizens as well as to forcibly displaced persons like refugees living in the country has attracted approbation from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya on February 28 issued a decree outlining the specifications and guidelines for the inclusive issuance of the country’s new national identity card to everyone on its territory.

The decree defines various terms and specifies the features and types of identity documents involved. These include the national identity card issued to nationals, the residence card for aliens, the refugee card, as well as the disability card for persons living with disabilities. The cards are all biometric.

The new ID issuance system, where cards are delivered within 48 hours after successful application, went operational last month, with the first batch of the cards distributed on March 3. A new production centre for these documents was recently inaugurated in the economic capital Douala.

In a press release dated March 26, the UNHCR lauded the Cameroon government’s inclusive approach, noting that the move will significantly impact the lives of the more than 1.4 million forcibly displaced persons which the country is home to. Of this number, one million are internally displaced persons (IDPs) and about 430,000 others are refugees, many of whom are from the Central African Republic (CAR) and Nigeria.

Reacting to this development, the UNHCR country representative in Cameroon, Yvette Muhimpundu, said: “We are proud of the results of our collaboration with the Government of Cameroon. This decree is a testament to Cameroon’s dedication to upholding the principles of the Global Compact on Refugees and ensuring that refugees have access to essential identification documents.”

“The identity card is a lifesaving tool that enables forcibly displaced people to be acknowledged by the hosting authorities and access basic services such as education, health, finance, and banking to ensure their self-reliance.”

The UNHCR has been deploying efforts to help the government issue legal identity documents to refugees in Cameroon as part of its mandate of making sure they can effectively carry out their daily social and economic transactions and get full access to the services they need.

According to the UNHCR, these efforts have led to 25,000 refugees in Cameroon having identification documents to date, with more than 4,000 of them receiving their identity cards recently.

Last year, Cameroon also ratified two UN conventions relating to the eradication of statelessness, highlighting the government’s commitment to ensuring legal identity for all.

In December, a new law on civil registration was also enacted, bringing several changes and facilitation to birth registration which is the foundation of legal identity.

While commending Cameroon for its gains so far, the UNHCR expressed concerns that a lack of sustained efforts by governments around the world will continue to leave children on the fringes of inclusion, and that “without sufficient resources, refugees and IDPs will be deprived of the critical services needed for integration and self-reliance.”

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  Cameroon  |  digital identity  |  identity management  |  legal identity  |  national ID  |  refugee registration  |  SDG 16.9  |  UNHCR