Protection Response to Civil Documentation and Birth Registration needs in NWSW Cameroon (Jan – Sept 2024)

In Cameroon, nationality is granted primarily under the principle of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Cameroon or abroad to parents with Cameroonian nationality, and the birth certificate is the first civil documentation which establishes an individual’s legal existence. It is a key document for accessing all other citizenship documents such as the national identity card and the electoral card. A birth certificate is required to enrol children in school, partake in public examinations and move between primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels.

The national identity card affords holders the possibility of enjoying their civil, political, economic, and socio-cultural rights. It enhances freedom of movement, travel privileges and voting rights. Without civil documentation, vulnerable and forcibly displaced populations in the NWSW regions are unable to enjoy their rights under national and international law, and remain susceptible to movement restrictions, exploitation, and a precarious protection environment. For this reason, the Protection Cluster NWSW and its AoRs have prioritised the facilitation of the civil documentation process for conflict-affected people in the North-West and South-West (NWSW) regions, supporting the issuance of birth certificates to crisis-affected children and strengthening the process of the issuance of civil documentation to displaced and other crises-affected persons.