Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville): A Duplicata d'acte de naissance, including the authority who issues it, the occasion/time of its issuance and its various uses; the difference between a "duplicata d'acte de naissance" and the original birth certificate and whether one or both documents would feature the name of the arrondissement in which they were issued or where the birth was registered (August 2005)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa |
| Publication Date | 19 August 2005 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | COG100400.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville): A Duplicata d'acte de naissance, including the authority who issues it, the occasion/time of its issuance and its various uses; the difference between a "duplicata d'acte de naissance" and the original birth certificate and whether one or both documents would feature the name of the arrondissement in which they were issued or where the birth was registered (August 2005), 19 August 2005, COG100400.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/45f147ec28.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Comments | Corrected version March 2007 |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In 22 August 2005 correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, a consular representative of the Republic of the Congo in Toronto stated that both the duplicata d'acte de naissance and the acte de naissance (original birth certificate) are identical except for the fact that the duplicata d'acte de naissance bears a stamp indicating that it replaces an original acte de naissance that has been lost. The duplicata d'acte de naissance is issued by the registrar (officier de l'État civil) at the commune level (officier d'État civil communal).
Législation comparée d'état civil, a December 2003 report published by the Association internationale des maires francophones (AIMF), indicated that the Congolese acte de naissance, in conformity with Section 46 of the Congolese Code de la famille (Family Code), contained the following information:
[translation]
– The year, month, day, hour and place of birth, the sex of the child, and his/her surname and given names;
– The ages, surnames, given names, occupation, place of residence of the father and the mother and, where applicable, those of the informant or the witnesses (AIMF Dec. 2003, 27).
In addition to the above-mentioned information, the consular representative of the Republic of the Congo in Toronto stated that both documents (acte de naissance and duplicata d'acte de naissance) feature the name and the number of the arrondissement where the birth was registered, the parents' citizenship and the signature of the registrar (officier d'État civil) who issued the documents (22 Aug. 2005). Without giving details of its different uses, the Congolese consular representative stated that the acte de naissance is [translation] a "essential" document (ibid.).
Regarding the format of the acte de naissance (or the duplicata d'acte de naissance), the Congolese consular representative explained that it varies, as a number of different formats and paper sizes are used in communes and city halls across the country (22 Aug. 2005).
The AIMF report explained that, [translation] "every birth must be registered with the registrar (officier de l'état civil) (ibid. 19). The registration must be completed within one month or by the end of the first working day following that if the last day of the month does not fall on a working day (ibid., 17). However, upon the request of the public prosecutor (procureur de la République), the registrar may accept a birth registration within three months of the birth of child (ibid., 24). After three months, according to the AIMF report, the registrar cannot issue the acte de naissance unless he or she is authorized by the president of the people's court of the village-centre or the neighbour hood (président du tribunal populaire de Village Centre ou de quartier) (ibid.). In addition, the public prosecutor can, at any time, issue a birth certificate for a birth that has not been registered by the registrar (ibid.).
Referring to Sections 25 and 27 of the Congolese Code de la famille, the AIMF report stated that the registrars include chairpersons of executive committees of the districts, chiefs of the districts, chiefs of administrative control stations (poste de contrôle administratif), mayors and chairpersons of village committees (AIMF Dec. 2003, 6).
In Brazzaville, there are eight principal (the town hall and seven arrondissements) and three secondary national registrars centres that administer birth and marriage registrations (AIMF n.d.). According to a November 2002 government report, these centres are located in the Brazzaville main City Hall (mairie centrale de Brazzaville) and in seven other wards: Makélékélé (arrondissement No. 1), Bacongo (arrondissement No. 2), Poto-Poto (arrondissement No. 3), Moungali (arrondissement No. 4), Ouénzé (arrondissement No. 5), Talangaï (arrondissement No. 6) and M'Filou (arrondissement No. 7) (Republic of Congo Nov. 2002, 4).
The same report stated that Congolese law allows the registration of births at any centre regardless of where the birth took place (Republic of Congo Nov. 2003, 4).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Association internationale des maires francophones (AIMF). December 2003. Brunau Leuvrey. Législation comparée d'état civil. Republic of the Congo. 22 August 2005. Correspondence from a consular representative in Toronto. Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: The following sources did not respond to the information request within time constraints: The Canadian Embassy in Abidjan, the Embassy of the Republic of the Congo in Washington, The Hôtel de ville of Brazzaville and The Pointe Noire-based Rencontre pour la Paix et les Droits de l'Homme (RPDH).
Internet sites, including: AllAfrica, European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), Government of the Republic of the Congo, International Crisis Group (ICG), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United States Department of State.
_____. N.d. Programmes: Informatisation de l'état civil – Brazzaville – État civil.
_____. November 2002. Direction des statistiques démographiques et sociales, Centre national de la statistique et des études économiques, ministère du Plan, de l'Amenagement du territoire et de l'intégration économique. Aperçu sur les faits d'état civil enregistrés à Brazzaville de 1996 à 1998.