Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - September 21, 2024 - Cameroon's Baka Indigenous community, along with the Bagyieli, have faced forced displacement from their traditional homes due to mining and logging activities.

The Baka and Bagyieli have lived in harmony with central Africa's forests for generations, but mining and logging activities are encroaching on their conservation areas and government policy aims to integrate them into mainstream society. The lack of birth certificates poses a significant barrier for many Baka children, as they cannot obtain national identity documents and are excluded from the full benefits of citizenship.

The document is crucial for accessing education, healthcare, and employment opportunities.

Cameroon's actions are part of a commitment by African nations earlier this year to address the right to nationality and eradicate statelessness on the continent of more than 1.3 billion people.

The Indigenous people of Cameroon are mostly hunters and gatherers who are used to easily crossing lightly guarded international borders in search of food and game.

Many Baka students cannot move on to secondary education or beyond, and companies often require identification papers, closing another route to integration into society.

Several other groups of Cameroonians also face statelessness, such as the ongoing separatist crisis in the country's English-speaking North West and South West regions and the Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North region.