Report on Citizenship Law: Mali and identity numbers, called the ‘carte NINA.’106 In 2016, the government launched the rollout of this biometric ID card, in line with the commitment of ECOWAS to facilitate freedom of movement through a common-form identity card.107 To date, over 14 million Malians have been registered under this system and 85% of those eligible have been registered to vote.108 It should be noted that the NINA card does not establish nationality and is therefore best viewed as a form of identity establishment, rather than as proof of nationality, which is only conferred by the certificate of nationality. 4.7 Challenges with birth registration and identification According to a recent study, 80% of the population is now registered in the government’s civil registration database Recensement Administratif à Vocation d’État Civil (RAVEC).109 There remains, however, considerable regional variation in birth registration, with less than 60% of births registered in the north, while 98% of births are registered in Bamako, the capital.110 According to the government, fewer than 1,500 registration centres in Mali remain operational as of 2004 and some government officials have called for an expedited process in conflictaffected regions.111 Many Malians born outside of Mali are not registered with either Malian embassies or consulates. As well, it is unclear to what extent children enrolled in Koranic schools, known as talibé, are registered. Access to civil registration is impeded in the north by the distance and mistrust between nomads and the authorities. Mali has been in the process of strengthening civil registration and identification as part of programmes to combat cross-border criminality and terrorism, two systemic problems in northern Mali related to the civil war in that part of the country, which now involve both the Tuareg and Fulani minority groups. The introduction of biometric ID cards is part of this effort. To assist with the administration of justice in conflict regions such as Mopti, MINUSMA (the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali) has organised several audiences foraines (mobile court sessions, that can in principle issue jugements supplétifs to order late registration 106 Gouvernement du Mali, « Rapport sur la situation de l’enregistrement des faits d’état civil et de l’établissement des statistiques » (2012). Loi n°06-040 du 11 août 2006 portant institution du numéro d’identification national des personnes physiques et morales, complétée par Décret n° 06 - 442/ P - RM du 18 octobre 2006 fixant les modalités d’application de la loi portant institution du Numéro d’Identification National des personnes physiques et morales. 107 On ECOWAS free movement see, Nfaly Sanoh, Chargé de Programme Principal Immigration/CEDEAO « Libre Circulation des Personnes dans les Processus d’intégration Régionale: cas de la CEDEAO », June 2007 and Nfaly Sanoh, « Libre circulation des personnes dans les processus d’intégration régionale : Cas de la CEDEAO, » presentation available at ; http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/microsites/IDM/workshops/free_move ment_of_persons_18190607/presentation_sanoh.pdf. 108 Gouvernement du Mali, « Rapport sur la situation de l’enregistrement des faits d’état civil et de l’établissement des statistiques » (2012). 109 S. P. Berthé, M. Chajes, « Modernisation du système d’état civil au Mali » 5th Annual Meeting of the ID4Africa Movement (18-20 June 2019). 110 Gouvernement du Mali, « Rapport sur la situation de l’enregistrement des faits d’état civil et de l’établissement des statistiques » (2012). Institut National de la Statistique (INSTAT), Mali, Cellule de Planification et de Statistique Secteur Santé-Développement Social et Promotion de la Famille CPS/SS-DS-PF et ICF (2019). 111 Gouvernement du Mali, « Rapport sur la situation de l’enregistrement des faits d’état civil et de l’établissement des statistiques » (2012). 18 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/11- © 2020 Author(s)