Access to legal identity in the Horn of Africa remains a critical barrier to effective migration governance, limiting individuals’ access to essential services and protection as well as constraining governments’ ability to plan and advance regional integration. A recent Khartoum Process meeting underscored the crucial need for reform and cooperation to build inclusive identity systems across the region, while pinpointing promising practices already underway.
When UN Member States endorsed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, they pledged to ensure that no one is left behind. A cornerstone of this promise is Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 16.9, which calls for “legal identity for all, including birth registration, by 2030.” Objective 4 of the Global Compact for Migration echoes this goal, committing States to “ensure that all migrants have proof of legal identity and adequate documentation.” Legal identity, anchored in effective civil registration systems, is not merely a bureaucratic formality – it is the foundation for individual rights, social protection, and good governance. Without it, people cannot access services such as healthcare, education, employment, or refugee protection. Shortcomings are particularly acute in large-scale migration and displacement contexts.
The UN’s operational definition refers to legal identity as the basic characteristics of an individual’s identity, such as name, sex, and place and date of birth, conferred through registration and the issuance of a certificate by an authorised civil registration authority following a birth. Civil registration is defined as the continuous, permanent, compulsory, and universal recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events pertaining to the population, as provided through decree or regulation in accordance with the legal requirement in each country.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, only about half of children under the age of five are officially registered at birth. In the Horn of Africa, many countries continue to struggle with strengthening their civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems, and barriers to legal identity persist. These challenges are especially pronounced in situations of large-scale migration and displacement. They heighten the risk of statelessness, deny individuals basic protection services, and fuel vulnerabilities and irregular migration. At the recent Khartoum Process Thematic Meeting on Legal Identity as a Cornerstone for Access to Rights and Services and effective Migration Governance, governments and partners reaffirmed the urgent need for reform and collaboration to build inclusive identity systems as an essential step for safe, orderly, and regular migration.
Barriers and challenges to legal identity in the Horn of Africa: What is the problem?
Conflicts, natural disasters, and public health crises have displaced more than 24 million people in the Eastern and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region, further undermining access to legal identity. The challenge is clear: Civil registration systems across the region are overstretched and under pressure.
For people on the move, the absence of recognised identity documents is not a minor inconvenience – it is a barrier to survival. Without proof of identity, people cannot obtain travel documents, enrol children in school, access healthcare, or claim protection. Access to regularisation processes, family reunification, and opportunities for voluntary return also remain challenging.
Governments, too, face significant constraints. Without reliable civil registration systems, policymakers lack data to accurately track population trends, plan service delivery, or meet their legal obligations to protect migrants’ rights.
In the Horn of Africa, civil registration is a prerequisite for exercising the right to free movement, as underlined by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Free Movement Protocol. Strengthening CRVS systems is therefore central to implementing the IGAD roadmap, as well as advancing continental initiatives like the African Union’s Free Movement Protocol.
Expanding access to legal identity is not just a technical issue but also a political and social imperative for regional integration, rights protection, and orderly migration management.
Emerging solutions to expand access to legal identity
Despite these challenges, there are encouraging examples of how countries in the region are working to close identity gaps and extend rights protection to refugees and migrants. In 2024, Ethiopia launched its National ID Programme (NIDP), supported by the World Bank, to expand access to essential services and economic opportunities, especially for women and vulnerable rural populations. Importantly, the programme also creates a pathway for more than one million refugees to secure legal identification. In March 2024, the NIDP, UNHCR, and Ethiopia’s Refugee and Returnee Service (RRS) signed a data-sharing agreement to integrate refugees into the Fayda system. By granting national recognition to refugee and asylum-seeker ID cards, refugees can now access public and private sector services on equal terms, a significant step toward greater inclusion and dignity.
Another example comes from Chad, where the right to legal identity was already constrained before the influx of Sudanese refugees in April 2023. The sudden arrival of displaced families further strained birth registration systems, putting both refugee and host community children at risk of exclusion. To address this, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has partnered with civil authorities to support birth registration and the issuance of official documents. This effort is improving children’s access to education and protection while also fostering the inclusion of displaced persons within host communities.
Expanding access to legal identity across the Horn of Africa
The examples from Ethiopia and Chad demonstrate that progress is possible but scaling it across the Horn of Africa will require sustained political will, investment, and cooperation. Building on the outcomes of the Khartoum Process Thematic Meeting, the development of inclusive civil registration and identity systems will demand action in four key areas.
First, institutional and legal reform is essential. Governments must update laws and policies to guarantee the inclusion of migrants, refugees, and stateless persons in their national ID and civil registration systems. Parallel systems risk deepening exclusion and should be replaced with integrated, rights-based approaches.
Second, awareness must be strengthened. Migrants, refugees, and stateless populations should be included from the outset in identity-related programmes. Early and continuous engagement through information campaigns, outreach, and community partnerships is vital to ensure uptake and prevent exclusion.
Third, international cooperation is vital. Identity does not stop at national borders. Regional harmonisation and mutual recognition of identity credentials will help facilitate safe and regular mobility while safeguarding rights. Building on IGAD and African Union initiatives, states can work together to align systems and reduce fragmentation.
Finally, innovation must be harnessed. Hybrid models that combine digital and physical credentials can make identification both more secure and more accessible. Leveraging technology, while ensuring privacy and data protection, can improve service delivery for both citizens and people on the move.
Through international cooperation, the Horn of Africa can move closer to achieving SDG 16.9 and, in turn, the broader 2030 Agenda commitment to leave no one behind. With just five years remaining until the 2030 deadline, dialogue platforms such as the Khartoum Process provide an essential space for cooperation. By bringing together countries of origin, transit, and destination, the Process can foster shared learning, good practices, and reforms that strengthen civil registration systems. This cooperation is particularly valuable in a region where shocks such as conflict, climate-related pressures, and public health crises continue to test already fragile systems.
Tara Ohl is a Project Officer within the Africa-EU Migration Mobility Dialogue (MMD) at ICMPD. She provides technical support to the Khartoum Process Secretariat, focusing on addressing thematic challenges along the migration route between the Horn of Africa and Europe.
Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) alone.