Bajaus finally get birth certificates

THE LOCAL government spearheaded the birth registration of over 200 Sama Bajaus in a pilot project supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Due to their itinerant way of life and because of generations of non-registration of their births, Sama Bajaus face documentation issues, which in turn lead to their being at risk of statelessness.

Mayor Beng Climaco during last week's birth registration of over 200 Sama Bajaus in Zamboanga. (Kathy Wee Sit)

There are believed to be 10,000 Sama Bajaus living in Zamboanga alone and most of them do not have birth certificates.

UNHCR and UNICEF have provided technical assistance to the project under the so-called “Joint Strategy for Addressing Childhood Statelessness,” and said the pilot registration initiative also supports the “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) and is a significant advance towards leaving no one behind.

SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The SDGs, set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, is intended to be achieved by the year 2030.

The goals are the following - No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; Reducing Inequality, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production; Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life On Land, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions; and Partnerships for the Goals.

“The Philippines, (being) a signatory to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, has identified the Sama Bajaus as a population at risk of statelessness. After a series of consultations with Sama Bajau communities, UNHCR, as a leading UN agency toward ending statelessness by 2024, arrived at a recommendation to conduct a birth registration to address their documentation issues,” said Shinji Kubo, UNHCR Representative to the Philippines.

The pilot activity aims to provide birth certificates to a total of 412 Sama Bajaus by yearend. The project also aims to reach more communities in need of birth registration documents in 2020.

Mayor Beng Climaco thanked the UNHCR and UNICEF for their continuous support to Zamboanga through various interventions. (Zamboanga Post)

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