According to a Public Relations Officer at the Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Ottawa, there are three main identification documents for those who were born in or who are citizens of Ethiopia: a passport, an identity card and a birth certificate (26 Sept. 2002).

Nationals of Ethiopia can obtain or update a passport at consulates or missions abroad by providing the following: a completed application form which is available on the Embassy's Website, an original "record of landing" document, two passport size photographs, and two pieces of identification including one with a photograph (ibid.). If an individual has been living in Canada for more than four years and has not applied for Canadian citizenship, the Embassy requires proof of citizenship from the citizenship court (ibid. 19 Sept. 2002). Embassies or consulates "may renew a passport multiple times for additional two-year periods" (United States 18 June 2002). For additional information on the issuance of Ethiopian passports, please consult ETH31545.E of 26 March 1999 and ETH33213.E of 16 November 1999.

Identity cards are issued by kebeles (urban neighbourhood associations) to those who are 18 years of age or older, and by schools to students (United States 18 June 2002) and can only be obtained within Ethiopia from the municipality in which the individual was born (Embassy of Ethiopia 26 Sept. 2002). For information on the procedure and documents needed to obtain a Kebele identity card, please consult ETH37803.E of 24 August 2001.

Regarding birth certificates, the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs provides the following information:

[Birth certificates are] available only to those resident in Ethiopia. Requests for copies of previously issued birth certificates should be addressed to the Office of Region 14 Administration, Vital Statistics Service, Municipality of Addis Ababa, P.O. Box 356, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; or to the equivalent office or any other municipality in which the birth was registered.

For children under ten years of age, a hospital birth certificate, court document confirming parentage, or a baptismal certificate and acknowledgement from one's kebele ... are sufficient documentation for [the] issuance of a birth certificate. For children between the ages of eleven and thirteen, the above mentioned documents and school records are required for issuance. Any of the above documents and an identity card are satisfactory for the issuance of birth certificates for persons over the age of eighteen.

Persons applying for original birth certificates should contact the appropriate municipal authorities and present hospital birth records, which have been authenticated by their kebele. Because of the nature of the kebele system, the birth certificate may be issued by the municipality where the person presently resides rather than where the birth actually took place (18 June 2002).

According to the Public Relations Officer at the Ethiopian Embassy in Ottawa, the process involved for an Ethiopian citizen to obtain a previously issued birth certificate is the following: the individual must provide a valid Ethiopian passport and a power of attorney written in Amharic, along with a cheque for CDN$84 (26 Sept. 2002). The Embassy will authenticate the information and return it to the individual who will then forward the application to a friend or relative in Ethiopia who will act on their behalf and submit the information to the appropriate municipality in which the individual was born (ibid.). A birth certificate will be issued by the municipality and returned directly to the individual in the foreign country (ibid.).

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 to refugee status or asylum.

Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ottawa. 26 September 2002. Telephone interview with Public Relations Officer.

_____. 19 September 2002. "Consular and Legal Services." http://ethiopia.ottawa.on.ca/2consular.htm [Accessed 26 Sept. 2002]

United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. 18 June 2002. "Ethiopia: Reciprocity Schedule." http://travel.state.gov/reciprocity/Country%20Folder/E/Ethiopia.htm [Accessed 26 Sept. 2002]