UNHCR, APRIL 2023 REFUGEES FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION The rules on civil registration are established by the family code (Book II, Title I, Chapter II). Birth registration is compulsory and free. 171 Article 34 of Law No.21 of 2002 provides that a recognised refugee can obtain certificates of birth, death, marriage or any other civil status on the same conditions as nationals. Unless there are particular exceptions provided by law, the civil status of citizens can only be proved by the relevant certificates (actes de l'état civil).172 Initial registration of civil status events should take place within 90 days; late registration is punishable by a fine. In case a birth or other event has not been registered in time, there are procedures for late registration via a court judgement (jugement supplétif) or for the issue of a certificate recognising of the event based on recognition of facts in common knowledge (acte de notoriété).173 Diplomatic and consular missions function as civil status offices, and they are required to send records of their registrations each year to the ministry of justice and relevant tribunal in DRC. 174 The birth registration rate had been declining, from an estimated 34 percent of children under five in 2001 to 25 percent in 2014.175 This rate had recovered to 40 percent in a 2017 survey – although at least 5 percent of those registered did not hold a birth certificate; improved rates were particularly striking in North and South Kivu, with birth registration rates of 60 and 70 percent of children under five (respectively). The report warned, however, that the estimates must be treated with caution, since they were so much higher than expected.176 Indeed, UNHCR reported in December 2019 that 95% of children aged 0 to 4 being accommodated in UNHCR-coordinated sites for internally displaced people in eastern Congo did not have birth certificates.177 Permanent residence or other long-term immigration status Applicable law: There is no general law on migration. A legal framework adopted in the 1980s 178 defines the status of foreigner (étranger) and the rules governing entry and residence in DRC. Article 1 of Ordonnance-loi n°83–033 defines a foreigner as any individual who does not have Congolese nationality, whether the person has a foreign nationality or no nationality. The laws make reference to the role of several institutions that have never existed or no longer exist. In practice, visas are issued by the Directorate General of Migration ( Direction générale des migrations, DGM), attached to the Presidency and working with the Ministry of the Interior. 179 171 Family code, art. 116. 172 Family code, art. 72. 173 Family code, arts. 116, 105 – 109, 114, & 153 – 159. 174 Family code, arts. 76 & 87. 175 “Enquête nationale sur la situation des enfants et des femmes”, MICS Survey 2001, chapter 9.3 https://mics.unicef.org/surveys; Democratic Republic of Congo Demographic and Health Survey 2013 -14 chapter 19.1.1 https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR300/FR300.pdf. 176 INS, Enquête par grappes à indicateurs multiples (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, MICS), 2017 -2018, Rapport Final, République Démocratique du Congo, December 2019, Chapter 9.1 https://mics.unicef.org/surveys. 177 UNHCR: Weekly Emergency Update: Ituri and North Kivu Provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2-8 December 2019, https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/unhcr-weekly-emergency-update-ituriand-north-kivu-provinces-11. 178 Ordonnance-loi n°83–033 du 12 septembre 1983, modified by Ordonnance -loi n°87–033 du 8 août 1987; regulated by Ordonnance n°87–281 du 13 août 1987, as amended by Ordonnance n°88–060 du 18 avril 1988. Also Décret n°03–027 du 16 septembre 2003. 179 Germain Ngoie et David Lelu, “Migration en République Démocratique du Congo: Profil national 2009”, IOM, pp.47, 79-83 https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/drc_profile_2009.pdf. 59