Not all African countries require their citizens to carry a national identity card, but the number is rapidly increasing. ECOWAS Member States have committed to introduce a common-form biometric identity card by 2017. The introduction of these new systems may be based on concerns for national security or to improve delivery of public services: but for these aims to be achieved, law and procedures must ensure that people are not arbitrarily excluded from acquiring these documents.
Every citizen should have the right to a passport, enabling international travel, which should not be removed except following due process of law (for example, from a person accused of a serious crime).
Only some African countries establish an independent judicial procedure for a person to obtain a “certificate of nationality” or alternative document that is conclusive proof that a person is a national.
Members of the Ethiopian Jewish community, followers of Rastafarian beliefs and foreign nationals who have contributed to the welfare of the country can be issued Ethiopian national ID cards. This was based on a new Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
It is every child’s right to have their existence recorded and accounted for, to get an identity and to have that identity registered. Giving a child a name is essentially introducing them to the world and it is necessary to…
Do you know that the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act and the Immigration Act is out dated and far behind in terms of alignment with the new Constitution of Zimbabwe? Do you know, every Zimbabwean citizen and everyone else who is…
By Penelope Paliani Kamanga The move to give Malawians identity cards has entered its second month with only 200,000 people registered out of the ambitious move to register 9 million by the end of this year. Malawi, which is the…
The government has launched the registration programme for national identity documents to benefit people who have been disadvantaged through the loss of their parents due to past political disturbances. Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, who officiated at the launch, at Tshino…
An investigation by amaBhungane has turned a spotlight on systemic corruption in Malawi’s immigration department, involving the alleged issuing of fraudulent travel documents, work permits and citizenship rights to non-nationals in return for backhanders of up to $2,000. By Tamanda…
Lawyer Tendai Biti said he is approaching the courts seeking the scrapping off of the regions and district codes on national identity cards “because they are fuelling tribalism in the country”. A National Identity card bears the names of the…
Par Greg Roxburgh et Trésor Kibangula Après l’introduction de la biométrie en RDC, le passeport congolais est devenu l’un des plus onéreux du monde. Mais même à 164 euros pièce, ce n’est pas le le plus cher d’Afrique ! En…
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the National Population Commission (NPC) are partnering with journalists in Bauchi State to promote massive birth registration activities across the state. The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria, Bauchi, Abdulai Kaikai, who stated…
by Francis Cordor In 2011, the Government of Liberia created the National Identification Registry, an autonomous agency that would be responsible for developing and administering a National Biometric Identification System for all citizens and residents of the Republic of Liberia.…