N'djamena- On 4 April 2022, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Chadian National Agency for Secure Titles (Agence Nationale des Titres Securisés - ANATS) launched a campaign to issue identity documents and birth certificates targeting 1,265 people in the communities of Tandal, Yakoua, Melea, Nguelea and Kousseri in the Chad’s Lac Province. The campaign is the fruit of a recent partnership agreement between the two institutions to strengthen the protection of vulnerable rural populations through improved access to legal identity documents such as birth certificates and identity cards. Legal identity is the fundamental right of individuals to be legally registered as a person.

However, according to the World Bank, nearly one person out of three does not have a legal identity in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Chad, this concerns primarily rural populations due in large part to a lack of information, the absence of civil registration structures, or sometimes, the high ID registration costs. “As a result, many people, including young Chadians, do not have access to essential services such as banking, and are unable to find a job or start a business in the formal sector,” explains Anne Schaefer, Chief of Mission of IOM in Chad. For migrants and their host communities, access to a legal identity provides a pathway to rights and opportunities, giving them access to essential services.

Thus, improving access to legal identity can play an important role in fostering safer migration and stimulating socio-economic development. “Proof of legal identity not only provides people with national and international protection, thus reducing vulnerabilities along migration routes, but also contributes to reducing inequalities by increasing access and socio-economic inclusion,” says Anne Schaefer.

“Since I was born, I have not had the chance to obtain a birth certificate because my parents were unaware of the importance of such a document”, says Abdoulaye, a resident of the Tandal district in the Lac Province. “When I grew up, I was admitted to primary school. After 5 years of primary school, I had to stop my studies because I did not have a birth certificate to take the national entrance exam to secondary school. Today, I have a birth certificate that I can use to apply for a national identity card, and I will finally re-enrol to complete my studies,” he adds.

In its action plan for the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, Chad has made access to legal identity one of its priorities for the 2022–2024 period. Thus, the country benefits from a multifaceted support from the United Nations Network on Migration to improve the monitoring system of access to civil status and issuance of administrative and identity documents for local populations, including migrants. After the Lac Province, the campaign will be rolled out in the Kanem, Barh el-Ghazel, Borkou, Ennedi-Ouest, and Tibesti provinces where more than 6,000 people will receive identity cards and birth certificates.

The ID rollout campaign is supported by IOM’s community stabilization projects funded by the Korean International Cooperation Agency and German Ministry of Foreign Affairs