Guide Communautaire pour L'Etablissement de l'acte de naissance
Here we share a Legal Guide for community members, produced by our Indigenous Navigator partners in Cameroon, explaining how to go about establishing a birth certificate.
In Cameroon, the birth certificate is the first civil document of any individual, which establishes a person’s legal existence. It is a gateway document to all other citizenship documents, such as a national identity card or electoral card, and a key element of the human right to a nationality. A birth certificate, or an ID card, is necessary to be able to enrol children in school, move freely around the country, vote, initiate legal procedures, apply for jobs, and perform many other essential life activities – it is the cornerstone to the enjoyment of many civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. However, for the indigenous communities of Cameroon’s forests, it has long been known that a significant number lack citizenship documents, and have therefore been disproportionately excluded from the enjoyment of other legal rights.
This practical guide explains all the important administrative steps for communities to follow, covering 3 main scenarios:
- Registering a birth (0-90 days old)
- Establishing a birth certificate for a baby (3 months-6 months old)
- Establishing a birth certificate for an infant older than 6 months, or for an adult
Nous partageons ce guide produit par nos partenaires Navigateur Autochtone au Cameroun sur l'importance des certificats d'état civil.