Cameroon introduces draft laws on civil registration reform, data protection
Published: 19/Nov/2024
Source: Biometric Update
By Ayang MacDonald
The government of Cameroon has brought two bills to parliament which are vital for the country’s digital transformation journey. They are a bill that introduces a new civil registration dispensation in the country with several novelties, as well as another on personal data protection.
The draft texts are currently being examined by lawmakers in the National Assembly and the Senate, and will be enacted by the President of the Republic after their adoption.
Issuance of digital civil registration certificates
The bill on civil registration seeks to institute a new legal framework for civil registration, introducing many aspects that are absent in the current law governing the process in Cameroon.
Among the innovations are the extension of the window for birth registration from 60 to 90 days from the birth of a child, the involvement of civil administrators in soliciting the establishment of birth certificates for delayed declarations beyond 12 months, the introduction of a Unique Personal Identification Number (UPIN) which shall be generated at the time a birth is registered and to be used for life, the introduction of digital civil registration certificates which shall be equivalent to physical ones and with the same legal force and evidential value, and the establishment and management of a national civil status registration database.
In an explanatory statement, the government says the move is a big step forward in the push to modernize and digitize the civil status registration system in the country.
Read further: https://www.biometricupdate.com/202411/cameroon-introduces-draft-laws-on-civil-registration-reform-data-protection