Fatshimetrie, the essential media to know everything about Congolese society, offers you an exclusive insight into strengthening communication for civil registration in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The recent recommendations of UNICEF, resulting from a workshop dedicated to this topic, reveal the urgency of action to improve the birth registration rate, set at only 40% in the country.
According to Massamba Diouf, in charge of child protection and birth registration at UNICEF, awareness-raising and communication play a crucial role in increasing this registration rate. He emphasizes the need to take up this challenge to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Indeed, it is essential to guarantee each individual the right to a legal identity, the first step towards the recognition of their rights and duties.
On the Congolese authorities’ side, Mr. Belly Lunanga, Head of Division at Civil Status, emphasizes the importance of taking charge of population registration and identification operations. He insists on the need for close collaboration between the various government departments to ensure efficient and reliable registration of births, marriages and deaths.
Furthermore, the expertise of Chantal Lukadi, a lawyer at the National Office for Population Identification, highlights the essential role of the General Population File (FGP) in identifying individuals. This centralized system ensures the coordination and reliability of recorded data, thus providing a single source for issuing official documents.
The challenge of the digital transformation of the civil status registration service is crucial for efficient and secure management of individual data. This technological development must be accompanied by increased awareness among the population of the importance of registering births and civil events.
In short, the issue of civil registration in the DRC raises major challenges in terms of protecting the fundamental rights of citizens. Collaboration between local actors, government institutions and international organizations appears to be an essential lever to meet this challenge and guarantee each individual a legal and recognized identity.
Fatshimetrie is committed to closely monitoring the development of this crucial issue for Congolese society and to informing its readers of the progress made in civil registration. Because only a fully recognized and registered population can actively contribute to the development and construction of a more just and equitable society.