US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI1278

UNCLAS DJIBOUTI 001278 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, DJ 
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI PASSES NEW LEGISLATION ON CITIZENSHIP 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: On 26 September the Permanent Commission of 
the Djiboutian National Assembly adopted a new law regarding 
qualifications for Djiboutian citizenship.  The new law is 
more liberal than the current requirements and will give 
greater rights to pass on citizenship to Djiboutian women. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) Currently, the law states that a person must show 
proof of both the mother and father having citizenship in 
order to be eligible for Djiboutian nationality.  The 
legislation adopted on 26 September will change the 
requirement to show proof of either the mother or the 
father's Djiboutian citizenship.  Due to the nature of the 
bookkeeping at the Population Services and the historically 
nomadic nature of the Djiboutian population, many cases 
depend on the applicant being "well-known" by the case 
workers, or the district commissioners in the instance of 
those outside Djibouti city. 
 
3. (U) Only the Service de Population (Population Service) 
within the Ministry of Interior has the responsibility and 
authority to issue national identity cards.  The Service de 
Population has one office in the capital city.  However, 
District Commissioners are also given authority to process 
cases and submit them to the main bureau in the capital. 
This, and the lack of funds, personnel and training, has led 
to there being a reported back-log of applications that 
number nearly 6,000. 
 
4. (U) Identity cards cost the applicant 2,000 DF (roughly 11 
USD) for the initial application. Replacements are much more 
expensive at 10,000 DF (56 USD).  The cost of even the 
initial application is prohibitive for the average Djiboutian 
family, whose average GDP per capita is measured at only 
1,200 USD annually. (Note: This figure does not take into 
account the over 50 percent unemployment rate. End Note.) 
Many families choose to use their money to purchase food for 
their children rather than apply for a national ID. 
 
5. (U) The lack of a National Identity Card can make a 
Djiboutian's life very difficult.  There are numerous tasks 
that one cannot accomplish without an identity card. 
Registering for school, getting a job, and collecting 
benefits are among many.  Because many children do not have 
ID cards and cannot go to school without one, the Service de 
Population is starting to expedite processing applications in 
batches by year of birth - starting with the most recent 
decade.  Occasional round-ups of illegal aliens can also be 
one situation where it is dangerous not to have a national 
identity card. 
 
6. (U) Said Aboubaker Bosoma, Director of the Service de 
Population said in a conversation with PolOff on 18 August 
that the present system, though simple, does not work well 
and the service does have a large back-log.  Bosoma said 
there is great need for their archives and processing system 
to be computerized in order to accelerate work.  He also 
commented that the new law, which at the time had not been 
passed, would facilitate working through the caseload by 
making it easier to attain citizenship. 
RAGSDALE