In many parts of Africa, lacking legal identity means being shut out of the system, unable to access healthcare, attend school, secure a job or claim legal protection.

“We saw it clearly during COVID_19,” said Tapiwa Mucheri, Policy Officer (migration governance) at the African Union Commission. “Without legal identity, many people simply couldn’t be reached.” When crises hit, identity becomes the first line of access, or exclusion.

But the problem extends far beyond emergencies. For millions of migrants, refugees and stateless people, life without documents means navigating the continent through informal networks, with limited access to basic services and no official record of their existence.

South Sudan is one of the countries trying to catch up. “We are learning from our neighbours like Kenya and Uganda, who have made strong progress in refugee registration and legal identity,” said Wani Francis Lasu, Migration Data and Policy Planning Officer at South Sudan's Ministry of Interior. His country is just beginning to build its civil registration system, and with many returnees flowing in, the gaps are hard to ignore.

Kenya, by contrast, has invested in its identification system for decades. Its electronic ID infrastructure now supports banking, public health and access to social services.

“The government has also taken steps to recognize previously stateless communities like the Shona and Makonde,” said Christopher Wanjau, head of Kenya’s National Registration Bureau. “By granting them legal status, we are enabling access to national systems and public services and acknowledging their contribution to national development.”

Uganda has taken a bold step further by integrating refugees into its national identification framework. “We created a single national registry that includes both citizens and foreigners,” said Deborah Amanya, a Principal Immigration Officer. “Refugees live in settlements, not camps, and they are documented so they can work and live with dignity.”

These are some of the examples shared during a regional gathering (26-30 May) in Harare where more than 40 experts and policymakers came together to validate data and share lessons.

Convened by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with the African Union and the International Organization for Migration, the five-day workshop focused on legal identity and migration statistics across the East and Horn of Africa. A practical toolkit to support member States in strengthening these systems was also reviewed and validated.

Tapiwa Mucheri of the African Union Commission pointed to promising frameworks. “The ECOWAS biometric ID, the East African interstate pass, the mutual recognition of national IDs in the Southern African Development Community - these are real pathways toward a continent that moves with purpose.”

But political will and infrastructure vary. Even where ideas exist, implementation often lags.

“The issue is not a lack of frameworks,” said Walter Kasempa, AU/IOM Migration Ambassador. “What we need now is investment and follow-through. Identity is not just about systems. It is about lives.”

Gideon Rutaremwa, Population Affairs Officer at the ECA summed it up: “We cannot talk about regional integration, free movement or inclusive growth while half a billion Africans remain undocumented. Getting this right is a foundation for everything else.”

There was clear consensus among delegates that legal identity is not a privilege but a right and that it will shape the future of free movement and development across Africa.