Major progress for refugees as Ethiopia begins civil registration

Photo credit: UNHCR/Diana Diaz. South Sudanese refugee Ariat Ochocka Odulla’s son was amongst the first refugee children to receive a birth certificate in Ethiopia.

TMP – 01/11/2017

In a historic first, Ethiopia has officially inaugurated a civil registration process for refugees in the country. As of 27 October, all refugees are now able to register important administrative information, including births, deaths, marriage and divorces, directly with national authorities.

This ground-breaking development is a major step forward for refugee protection in Ethiopia. It comes amidst the expansion of a range of vocational and educational opportunities being offered to refugees in the country as part of its Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework. The framework aims to help respond more effectively to the needs of the refugee community residing in the country.

With the amendment to existing legislation on civil registration, the over 70,000 refugee children born in Ethiopia over the last decade will now be retroactively issued with birth certificates.

Other commitments made by the Ethiopian government for upcoming years include granting work permits to refugees, strengthening access to education, allowing a significant number of refugees to reside outside of refugee camps and to locally integrate long-staying refugees.

Ethiopia currently hosts more than 883,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen.