capacity building of services and actors; (iii) advocacy and awareness for the mobilisation of
resources, and increase awareness on the importance and the issuance of the birth certificate;
(iv) strengthening coordination on birth registration.
In Congo, many factors do not facilitate birth registration and adversely affect the smooth
running of the process. Among other factors, the geographic coverage of the provision of
civil registration is an illustration of the difficulties that people face in reaching the nearest
centre of their residence, especially in rural and remote areas of the country. Field
observations also show that in several departments, centres are not always functional for
various reasons, mainly due to equipment and staff issues.
Also, during the late registration campaigns that have been organised in 2004-2010, there was
multiple staff involvement such as teachers in small remote communities, maternity and
courts staff and senior staff of civil registration services.
Following the recommendations of the study on the analysis of the birth registration process
in Congo, the government through the Ministry of Territorial Administration and
Decentralisation has initiated a draft project joint multisectoral order for the creation of civil
registration services in health facilities to simplify the procedure of obtaining birth
certificates.
Long considered second-class citizens, and left behind, indigenous people are the most
marginalised and the most vulnerable layer of the Congolese population. They are often
victims of discrimination and exploitation.
Estimated at 43 3781 people, indigenous people represent about 1.2% of the Congolese
population and are divided into 8912 households. They are the poorest of the society. 64.3%2
of indigenous people have no birth certificates.
Since the launch of the operation "total and free registration of unregistered children in the
civil register" by the president himself, in 2004, the government through the Directorate
General of Social Affairs and Family and the Directorate General of Territorial
Administration are pursuing this major issue. Several registration campaigns for civil
registration were conducted. Significant results have emerged from 2006 to 2009: Issuance of
birth certificates to 48,306 children including 41,107 Bantu children and 7222 indigenous
children, out of the 67,149 children identified.
However, we note some significant improvements in ECOM 2011 with 09% of children
under 5 years unregistered, compared to ECOM 2005 data (14%), but there is still a large
number of children who, as of today, are not reported to the civil register.
In the analysis report of the General Census of Population and Housing in Congo; theme:
vulnerable population, sub theme: pygmies or indigenous people, July 2010
The activity reports from the campaigns on late births reporting that were conducted in
different districts in Congo show that indigenous people are a category of people affected by
the non-reporting of births.
1
In the analysis report of the General Census of Population and Housing in Congo; theme: vulnerable population, sub
theme: pygmies or indigenous people, July 2010
2
Ibid.
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