Ethiopia’s IDPs Still Need an Easy Fix: ID Cards

Despite having forward-leaning solutions for internally displaced people (IDPs), Ethiopia has a glaring and easily fixable gap: a specific, comprehensive national IDP law that would formalize existing, ad hoc efforts and align the country’s domestic law with the African Union’s Kampala Convention, which Ethiopia ratified in 2020.

One way the lack of a comprehensive IDP law manifests is in the challenges IDPs in Qoloji Babile District face in acquiring an identification card. At least 100,000 IDPs have been without IDs for almost a decade. Without them, they cannot work or travel, even to attend events like weddings or funerals.

Refugees International was in Ethiopia in July and spoke to IDPs in Qoloji, where one person interviewed described life living in an “open-air prison.” 

The internally displaced people in Babile, who are mainly from the Somali ethnic group from neighboring Oromia state, were displaced in a bloody conflict from December 2016 to 2017 that was marked by the killing of civilians, the destruction and looting of homes, properties, and businesses, and sexual violence. Many lost their identification when their properties were burnt down and have not had legal IDs since. 

The lack of IDs has severely limited their freedom of movement outside the camp where they were displaced and has restricted their access to social, medical, and economic opportunities because many essential government services in Ethiopia are linked to the national ID. They cannot even activate a SIM card to access cellular services. 

Some IDPs went as far as saying that refugees enjoyed better rights than they did, since they have a refugee ID and can therefore access many of the state services.

Food insecurity in the camp is a significant issue, and no one can leave the camp to supplement the government’s and aid agencies’ provisions. One elder from Refugees International interviewed said that, regardless of family size, food assistance is limited to seven members per household. Families with more than seven members, for example, those with 13 or more, must share the same ration, leading to an insufficient food supply and increased vulnerability among larger households. 

The impact is also hitting the next generation. A mother said her twelfth-grade daughter was nearly barred from taking the national exam because she lacked a national ID, but was eventually allowed to take it after securing a support letter from the local authority. She said the children and youth in the IDP settlement are a “lost generation” due to a lack of documentation, limited access to education and employment, and growing hopelessness. 

Many young men have had to migrate to first Yemen and then Saudi Arabia, with some executed for engaging in drug smuggling. Some migrate to neighboring cities for informal, low-paying, and often illegal labor. Since the employer knows they were hired under the table, they are frequently exploited.  

IDPs in Ethiopia continue to face significant challenges, despite considerable efforts to address the situation. Ethiopia has one of the highest rates of internal displacement globally. As of June last year, an estimated 4.5 million people remain displaced. But the government has taken specific steps to address its protracted displacement. It was a pilot country for the UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement. In 2019, Ethiopia adopted the Durable Solutions Initiative (DSI), a collaborative framework developed by the government and international organizations to provide a structured approach to conflict-induced and disaster-related internal displacement. 

Ethiopia also ratified the Kampala Declaration, and in 2024, the government launched the National Strategy to Implement Solutions Pathways to Internal Displacement. The strategy integrates displacement into broader peacebuilding and development strategies. 

For the IDPs in Qoloji, these frameworks have not solved their problems. The cost per person for issuing an ID is less than $4. Fixing this is possible. While legal documentation is a mundane bureaucratic exercise, it has a profound bearing on the lives of displaced people. Legal identification is referred to as the “right to have rights” for a reason: it underpins the recognition of a person’s existence before the law. 

Despite ratifying the Kampala Convention and drafting a proclamation, the current legal framework for internal displacement remains fragmented, resulting in inconsistent and ineffective protection. The Ethiopian government should fix this by enacting its Draft Proclamation for the Protection and Support of Internal Displacement into law.

For the 100,000 IDPs in Qoloji, acquiring IDs will change their lives and livelihoods. The Ethiopian government should prioritize this common-sense solution.