Forcibly displaced persons (IDPs, refuges, returnees) are estimated at more than 200,000 in the Region of Diffa. 80% of these individuals do not possess any identification, which remains a significant obstacle to their mobility. The provision of documentation which enables individuals to identify themselves is now a real challenge for conflict-affected communities which have not previously been reached by fragile national civil registration systems.

The lack of an effective registration mechanism adapted to the context of forced displacement in Diffa region, has created major obstacles to the humanitarian response by the authorities and humanitarian actors in the region. In spite of the many registration exercises and efforts conducted since 2014 by the General Directorate of Civil Status Registration, Migration and Refugees (DGECM/R) with the support of the UNHCR, the results remain largely unreliable.

On Wednesday 20 September, the General Directorate of Civil Status Registration, Migration and Refugees (DGECM/R), with the support of the UNHCR, launched a biometric registration operation (commonly called BIMS) targeting all the displaced persons in the region of Diffa. This registration method is already functional for Malian refugees. (http://unhcrniger.tumblr.com/post/155713412159/un-enregistrement-de-qualit%C3%A9-est-le-gage-de-la )

The first phase of this operation is being undertaken in the refugee camp of Sayam Forage. The objective of beginning in Sayam Forage is to test the operational system in a relatively stable environment; thus enabling the more than 100 people mobilized to conduct the enrolment to familiarize themselves with the tools before moving on the more challenging out-of-camp stage. This operation will continue until the end of 2017.

BIMS is necessary due to the protection challenges currently faced in the region of Diffa, but will also lay the groundwork for important next steps with regard to the implementation of the NADRA project, officially known as the ‘Administrative Census of Humanitarian Development (NADRA) (http://unhcrniger.tumblr.com/post/160048879384/avec-le-projet-recensement-administratif-de ). This project will move beyond the registration of displaced population by facilitating a census of the entire population of the Region of Diffa and the setting up of an effective and modern national registration and identification system.