16/09/2025
𝐂𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐘:
BUNEC is advocating for an International Identity Day.
Under the leadership of the National Civil Status Registration Office (BUNEC), a high-level advocacy event was launched this Tuesday, September 16th, at the Star Land Hotel in Yaoundé. The objective: to obtain official recognition of September 16th as International Identity Day. Under the theme "My Identity, My Umbrella," the initiative aimed to place legal identity back at the heart of inclusive and sustainable development policies.
*An advocacy for the right to exist*
For BUNEC, identity is not an administrative formality: it is a fundamental right, the foundation that provides access to citizenship, education, health, social protection, and economic participation. With this in mind, BUNEC brought together ministries, technical and financial partners (GIZ, UNDP, UNICEF, IOM, etc.), civil society, and international stakeholders. The objective is clear: to make the cause of identity a global priority, mirroring the campaigns led by the ID4Africa Movement.
The work, led by Mr. Jean Hyacinthe EBELA, BUNEC's Technical Advisor and ID4Africa Ambassador for Cameroon, highlighted major advances, such as the announcement by the General Delegation for National Security regarding the issuance of the national identity card within 48 hours, a decisive step towards a modern and efficient administration.
*"My Identity, My Umbrella": a call to action*
The theme of the workshop sums up the essentials: "Strengthening actions to accelerate access to and use of identity as a lever for social development and economic growth in Cameroon." Otherwise, without legal identity, no rights are effective. To this end, three panels mobilized participants:
1. Progress on the identity agenda in Cameroon;
2. Harnessing the synergy between civil status, health, and identity: improving birth and death registration;
3. Digitalization as a driver of identity for all.
This advocacy is part of an inclusive vision: building an ecosystem where every Cameroonian and foreign resident can have their existence legally recognized, a sine qua non condition for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and combating the exclusion of the administratively "invisibility."
*Civil status, a strategic pillar of development*
By reaffirming the central role of civil status, BUNEC emphasizes that identity takes root at birth. The synergy within the framework of ID4Africa gives this advocacy a pan-African scope. The presence of the Central African ambassador and the renewed support of the Cameroonian government reinforce Cameroon's legitimacy as a leading stakeholder in the modernization of identity systems in Africa.
*Towards international recognition*
The Yaoundé workshop marks the launch of a vast awareness-raising and advocacy campaign. The goal is to secure the support of international bodies for the dedication of an International Identity Day. Such an institution would constitute:
- a strong signal, reminding people each year of the urgency to act,
- a global platform to raise awareness about the plight of people without identity,
- an opportunity to stimulate both the supply and demand for legal and digital identity,
- a lever for building just, peaceful, and inclusive societies, in accordance with SDG 16.
*Reaction*
In his opening remarks, Jean Hyacinthe EBELA, ID4AFRICA/Cameroon Ambassador, stated that
"Identity is not just a name or a number. It is the foundation of our existence, the starting point of our citizenship."
He noted that in 2024/2025, more than a million children in Cameroon will still be without birth certificates, and therefore without identity. Establishing an Identity Day would help raise national and international awareness by reminding everyone that the right to identity is the first of all rights, the one that determines all others.
In short, with this plight, Cameroon, through the voice of BUNEC, is taking the lead in a universal fight: guaranteeing every human being the fundamental right to identity. Establishing an International Identity Day would be much more than a symbol: it would be a strategic tool to reduce exclusion and build a future where no one is left behind.
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