XXE DRIVE TO ISSUE DISPLACED WITH IDENTITY DOCUMENTS

XXE DRIVE TO ISSUE DISPLACED WITH IDENTITY DOCUMENTS

Maputo, 8 Nov (AIM) – The Mozambican Ministries of Justice and of the Interior, with the support of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), are planning to issue 90,000 birth certificates and identity cards to people in the northern provinces displaced from their homes by cyclones and by military conflict.

According to an IOM press release of Tuesday, the IOM will issue the documents to 90,000 internally displaced people in Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula provinces by September 2023, in coordination with the provincial representations of the two ministries.

“Providing access to documents that are vital to pursue or restart the life of the victims of conflicts and of natural disasters is a fundamental human right”, said the release. “The OIM has been supporting the displaced people so that they can resume their lives with dignity and normality”.

The head of the OIM Mission in Mozambique, Laura Tomm-Bonde, said that, in addition to already living in a vulnerable situation, the lack of any documentation could expose displaced people to restrictions on their freedom of movement, harassment, family separation, discrimination, gender-based violence and the risk of other human rights violations.

It may also limit the capacity of the displaced to access education and other basic services. The lack of documentation also raises concerns about land, housing, property and child protection. The displaced may also be at risk of being trafficked or regarded as supporters of the jihadist groups fighting against the government in Cabo Delgado.

Tomm-Bonde added that people without any form of identity document are at risk of losing the right to vote in next year’s municipal elections and the general elections scheduled for 2024.
(AIM)
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