INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

What: Fifth Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration

Theme: “Innovative Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System: Foundation for Legal Identity Management”

Who: Department of Economic Affairs and the Government of Republic of Zambia

When: Senior Officials Meeting – 14th -16th October 2019

Ministerial – 17th -18th October 2019

Where: Lusaka, Zambia (Mulungushi International Conference Centre)

Objectives:

The main objective of the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration is to provide strategic and policy guidance on pathways towards holistic, innovative and integrated CRVS and digital identity management systems in order to close the identity gap in Africa and thus contribute to the achievement of Agenda 2063 “ The Africa we want” which echoes inclusiveness as a prerequisite to the continent growth and development and the target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Fifth Conference will include discussions on new and emerging initiatives: the digital identity initiative in Africa and the United Nations Legal Identity Agenda, both of which rely on a well-functioning and efficient CRVS and identity management systems.

Progress and achievements:

The Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration, institutionalized as a standing regional forum of the African Union, convenes every two years to provide policy directions for the transformation and accelerated improvement of CRVS systems in the continent. Four such Conferences have been held over the last eight years since 2010. The first conference took place in August 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; the second in September 2012 in Durban, South Africa; the third in February 2015 in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire; and the fourth in December 2017 in Nouakchott, Mauritania. These Ministerial Conferences have provided policy guidance to the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS).There has been a sustained political commitment at national level, with governments taking leadership of the process of strengthening their respective CRVS systems. They have also passed a number of critical resolutions, declarations and recommendations to strengthen and accelerate the improvement of CRVS systems in the region including the CRVS decade for repositioning CRVS in Africa (2017-2026).

Expected outcomes:

(a) Strong support and commitment from countries and development partners, including adequate funding and technical support at the regional and country levels, for the continuous strengthening of CRVS systems as the foundation for robust and sustainable legal identity systems (with a view to closing the identity gap in Africa and contributing to the achievement of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

(b) Reaching an agreement on the strategic direction for a comprehensive legal framework, adopting technological innovations, improving interoperability and strengthening institutional capacity and coordination across Ministries and agencies for the integrated improvement of CRVS and identity management systems.

(c) Government declarations of their commitment to ensure that integrated CRVS and digital identity management systems reach their full potential (in terms of measuring progress on achieving Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

(d) Suggested approaches for improving vital events registration and providing identification to refugees, internally displaced persons and hard-to-reach and underserved populations (through well-integrated and efficient civil registration and identity management systems and the effective implementation of decisions by Heads of African Governments on their protection).

(e) Proposals on how the CRVS community, both countries and development partners, can be more engaged in meeting information and capacity-building needs and contributing to achieving the goals of the CRVS decade.

Journalists are invited to cover the Meetings.

For further information :

Ms. Selamawit Mussie l Policy Officer l Economic Affairs Department l African Union Commission l Cell: (251) 911 614792 |E- mail : SelamawitMU@africa-union.org

Media Enquiries and interview requests :

Ms. Afrah Thabit | Communication Officer Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission | Cell: (251) 911 200922 | E-mail: thabitma@africa-union.org | Web: www.au.int