Ibrahim Traoré says Unique Identifier could help manage forced returns
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Netafrique
President Ibrahim Traoré says the Unique Identifier could have better managed the forced return of Burkinabè gold miners expelled from Guinea. He cited the expulsions when enrolment on the electronic register was launched, as 3,400 returnees had arrived in Bobo-Dioulasso on 6 November, according to Netafrique.
At the launch of enrolment on the electronic unique identifier register, Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré said the difficulty of knowing the number of Burkinabè living abroad complicated the management of forced returns. He cited the expulsion of Burkinabè workers from the Siguiri mining sites in Guinea, where the number of people concerned remains difficult to establish, according to Netafrique.
A first convoy of 48 coaches carrying 3,400 returnees arrived during the night of 6 November at the Bobo-Dioulasso omnisports stadium. Those received are benefiting from security checks, health assessments, psychosocial support and professional and educational reintegration measures, according to Netafrique.
The electronic unique identifier is notably intended to improve the monitoring of Burkinabè citizens at border posts. Ibrahim Traoré said the country had so far operated with estimates of the number of its nationals living outside the country, according to Netafrique.
The introduction of enrolment comes after the suspension of gold mining in Siguiri, announced on 5 November 2026, which led to the departure of thousands of Burkinabè workers. It follows the launch of free enrolment for the electronic unique identifier announced on 11 November 2026.
