Bold New Campaign Is Advocating For Refugee Documentation In East Africa

July 17, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. RLO leaders discuss the key challenges faced by refugees in accessing documentation. (PHOTO: Edgar Otieno for the IRC).  

A new regional effort, Securing Documentation Campaign for Refugees in Kenya and Uganda, has been launched to confront a long-standing issue. Spearheaded by the IRC’s Re:BUiLD program in collaboration with regional stakeholders, this campaign is a rallying call to unlock a future of inclusion for refugees across the East African Community (EAC). 

In East Africa, tens of thousands of refugees are living in the shadows, not because they want to, but because they have no choice Despite efforts over the years to strengthen refugee rights and inclusion, one critical barrier still blocks their path to opportunity: the lack of official documentation. 

For a refugee, documentation or lack of it can mean the difference between access and exclusion, self-reliance and survival, hope and hardship. Without legal IDs, refugees are often unable to access healthcare, enroll in school, open a bank account, find formal employment, or even travel safely within host countries. It’s a quiet crisis—one with profound consequences. 

“Documentation is not just a piece of paper, it is the gateway to dignity, rights, services and self-reliance,” said Irene Shiundu, the Re:BUiLD Public Engagement and Advocacy Coordinator. “Without it, refugees are trapped in limbo, unable to access key basic services including health, education, employment, and freedom of movement.”

The campaign has two bold objectives: 

Enhancing Access to Documentation: Refugees must be able to obtain legal identification that allows them to fully participate in the economy, access services, and live with autonomy and safety. 

Strengthening Policy Implementation: The campaign supports governments and regional institutions in aligning and streamlining refugee documentation policies, cutting red tape, removing duplication, and enabling mutual recognition of refugee status across borders. 

This approach is timely and vital. The EAC is a region where displacement due to conflict, climate change, and economic instability continue to push people across borders. A harmonized documentation system ensures that refugees are not repeatedly stuck at square one every time they cross into a new country. 

A Call to Action 

The Securing Documentation Campaign is more than policy, it’s a movement. It invites governments, civil society, refugee-led organizations, the media, and development partners to join forces and reimagine what is possible when refugees are recognized not just as recipients of aid, but as active participants in rebuilding their own lives.

With documentation, a refugee mother can access healthcare for her child. A young person can finish school. An entrepreneur can register a business. A community can thrive. Without it, they remain invisible, trapped in a cycle of vulnerability and dependence.

July 10, 2025, Kampala, Uganda. Ismail Hussein Ismail, Team Leader, Aider Refugee Initiative sharing key challenges faced by refugees in accessing documentation. (PHOTO: Edgar Otieno for the IRC).