Birth registration

Catherine Stihler discusses the issues featured in this edition of The Parliament Magazine.

For most new parents, one of the first steps after giving your child a name is registering the birth. The moment you see the birth certificate you know that there is now official recognition of the birth and your child has a legal identity. This will lead in time to a national insurance number, a passport, tax liability and many other facets of a legalised daily life.

However, as many as 40 per cent of children under five years old worldwide do not have their births registered. Most of these children live in the poorest countries in the world. Without birth registration, children can grow up without an official identity. In the words of Unicef, “a child who is not counted, does not count”.

What are the key reasons for non-registration? Cost is the first key factor. The world’s poorest families do not have the money to pay to register and cannot afford to pay fines for non-registration either. Secondly, registration may be inconvenient. In rural and remote areas the nearest registration point may involve a day or more of walking.

So who is most affected? According to Unicef, those most likely to be affected are single parents, those living in war-torn countries and those living in countries where HIV/Aids is prevalent. Children who have been separated from their families due to war, natural disaster or parental death often find it difficult to be reunited with their families or to be eligible for any inheritance.

So how do we change this situation for the better? We should raise awareness of the importance of birth registration. Significant efforts are currently being made in many countries to raise registration levels. In Cambodia between 2000 and 2006 the percentage of children registered at birth was raised from 22 to 66 per cent. We must promote legislative reform to establish permanent and compulsory registration and consider means to make birth registration universally available, such as mobile registration services. Even in industrialised countries around two per cent of children are unregistered. Birth registration is a fundamental right and a realistic objective to aspire to.