We have emphasized multiple times the importance of civil registration, especially in many African countries, where numerous children live without the knowledge of the state. Thus, they do not have a legally recognised identity, and consequently, with no rights, they are not even entitled to have the most basic one, which is freedom.
This is also happening in Maroua, in northern Cameroon, where two young men, Jonas and Ernest, who are 14 and 12 years old respectively, were imprisoned in the juvenile penitentiary. They were accused of being linked to Boko Haram only because they had never been registered at the registry office.
The Community of Sant'Egidio, which has been visiting Maroua Prison for years, took steps to register the two minors, and once they obtained their identity documents, they were released. Community friends accompanied them back to their villages, specifically to their families, who were grateful for the release of their children.
Did you know that through registration we help thousands of children to get a name?
Find out how, with the BRAVO program
The Community of Sant'Egidio obtains freedom for two children who were held in the Maroua juvenile prison "because they did not have a name"
