Birth Registration in Latin America and the Caribbean
United Nations Children's Fund
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Newsletter Date
Newsletter No. 1, July 15, 2011
Regional overview The right to an identity consists of the legal and social recognition of a person as the subject of rights and responsibilities and also confirms that they belong to a state, territory, society and family: an essential element in preserving the individual and collective dignity of a human being. The right to identity for a child is closely linked to the right to immediate registration after birth. These basic rights express recognition of the child as a subject of rights and guarantee that the child has access to a name and nationality through birth registration. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and other human rights pacts and treaties stress the right to an identity, name and nationality as the threshold for securing the attainment of all other rights.
Advances and challenges Great advances have been made on the right to identity and birth registration in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years. UNICEF estimates show that the rate of under-registration for under-fives in the region has improved massively from 18%(1) in 2000 to a present level of 10% (2). There are still some challenges to overcome, though, as 18%(3) of under-fives in rural areas are still unregistered, as are 8% (4) of those in urban areas. Several countries continue to have rates of around 20% of under-registration for underfives: Bolivia 26%, the Dominican Republic 22%, Haiti and Nicaragua 19%, Ecuador 15% and Jamaica 11%(5). Unregistered children are mostly found within the most excluded groups, including those who live in rural, remote or isolated areas. In Haiti, for example, 35% of children in rural areas are unregistered, compared with 22% in urban areas. Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, non-registration stands at 34% for children in rural areas and 18% for their urban peers. Underregistration also affects children in the frontier zones and in areas of armed conflict, with the harshest impact being felt by indigenous and Afro-descendant children. Birth registration is an essential element in reducing disparities and achieving equity. Several events in the region since 2006 have had important repercussions, and perhaps the most important of these was the first Latin American Regional Conference on Birth Registration and the Right to Identity organised by the Organization of American
CONTENT:
Regional overview
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Reference documents
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Best practices
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Resources
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Real life stories
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Birth registration: - Helps trace children who are unaccompanied or separated from their carers. - Helps to protect children from child labour, early recruitment into the armed forces, child marriage, trafficking and illegal adoptions. - Provides access to health and education services. - Provides access to social services providing protection, programmes such as conditional cash transfers and family support programmes. - Provides access to the right to vote, inheritance, hold a bank account, request a passport and own property. - Provides the government with up-to-date statistics for use in planning public policy.
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Who are the unregistered?
Children living in poverty Children living in rural areas Indigenous and Afro -descendant children Migrant children and the children of migrant parents
Birth Registration in Latin America and the Caribbean States, Plan International and UNICEF. Authorities and representatives from institutions across 18 states of Latin America joined indigenous and Afro-descendant leaders, non-governmental organisations and international entities in Asuncion Paraguay to re-validate regional commitment to universal birth registration for all children and adolescents by 2015. The contributions from indigenous and Afro-descendant leaders were of special interest as they stressed that the right to identity for the entire population should be accessible, sustainable and respectful of different cultures. Efforts towards universal, free and timely registration are being hampered by insufficient political will, coupled with inadequate laws, complications over the migratory status of parents, the inaccessibility of registration centres for rural people and extensive poverty and social exclusion among indigenous populations, amongst other issues.
A call to action Birth registration is a decisive step on the path to good governance and represents a vital element in the promotion of democratic processes. The regulatory frameworks for birth registration systems must be fully revised if this is to be achieved. Simple and flexible laws must be drawn up, approved and updated to regulate birth registration, to guarantee that birth registration is free of charge and to eliminate fines for late registration. The new legislation must work toward decentralisation of registration services and promote initiatives or strategies that link birth registration with other social services (such as education, health, prenatal care, qualified birth care and immunisation). Governments must also implement awareness-raising campaigns in rural, remote and isolated areas, especially along the borders and in indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, providing parents with an incentive to exercise the right and duty of registering the birth of their children. Being unregistered places children in a highly vulnerable situation and it also blocks access to basic rights such as education and health or social protection programmes in many countries of the region. Unregistered children cannot vote, hold a passport or inherit. Proof of age and identity is essential for the protection of children in many circumstances. It is a fact that unregistered children are far more vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation due to their undocumented status. When universal, free and timely birth registration occurs, children are brought to the attention of decision-makers and they become officially recognized as members of society with rights and responsibilities. In the current year, UNICEF has made additional regional and national efforts with the investment of more than USD 2.7 million toward the regional target of universal, free and timely registration of all children by 2015, incorporating the countries of the English-speaking Caribbean into the initiative for the first time. The main objective is to renew political commitment from all actors (governments, civil registries, civil society, and indigenous organisations) and to identify innovative strategies through which to access the most excluded groups and deal with some of the challenges of nonregistration. UNICEF funds initiatives to modernise civil registries, facilitate access in remote areas or form alliances with other social services, such as the health services, to raise awareness of the importance of civil registration and promote changes in legislation. UNICEF works toward these objectives with regional partners such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organisation of American States and Plan International.
Regional Birth Registration Conference 2011 A regional conference on birth registration will be held in Panama on September 21 and 22. This event will include a campaign for regional governments to adopt an equitable strategy on issues to eliminate the exclusion of undocumented individuals, to remove barriers and reduce discrimination and racism. Participants will be called upon to adopt a plan of action offering more and better care for the most excluded sectors, maximizing the use of existing resources, disseminating good practice and building multisector alliances. Expected outcomes: - Renew political commitment to achieve free and universal registration of all children by 2015 - Draw up a plan of action for each country for the next four years, with specific objectives and deadlines targeted on the most excluded sectors
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- Reinforce horizontal cooperation between countries - Emphasise the consequences of non-registration to the general public —————–————(1) State of the World's Children 2006 (2) State of the World's Children 2011 and Childinfo.org (3) Ibid (4) Ibid (5) Ibid
Reference documents 1. First Latin American Regional Conference on Birth Registration and the Right to Identity - Paraguay 2007 -Conclusions and general recommendations [in Spanish] In order to achieve the free, universal and timely registration of births for all unregistered or inadequately registered children in the region by 2015, a general conclusion was drawn that birth registration must be assumed from a rights perspective, respecting the individual and cultural identity of inhabitants, with governments responsible for guaranteeing enjoyment of this right. [Read the document]
In countries where there is a civil registry office in municipal hospitals, parents can register their children inmediately.
-Recommendations of Afro-descendant participants [in Spanish] Afro-descendants make up one third of the total population in the region and many live in exclusion, poverty and marginalized with no access to birth registration. It is therefore essential to promote incorporation of the ethnic and racial variable from the Afro-descendant perspective throughout the region in order to guarantee full enjoyment of their rights as citizens. [Read the document] -Recommendations of indigenous peoples [in Spanish] The process of identification, registration and documentation must respect and reaffirm the individual and collective identity of the person. Indigenous peoples will make all the efforts necessary to help define clear regulations allowing their members to obtain adequate identification and the State must take the measures necessary to make these effective. [Read the document] 2. Resolution AG/RES. 2286 (XXXVII-O/07) of the Organization of American States This resolution of the Organization of American States adopts the Inter-American Program for a Universal Civil Registry, and the ―Right to Identity‖ and encourages Member States to continue adopting measures to ensure the full recognition of the right to identity, emphasising that the lack of recognition of identity can imply that the person has no legal proof of their existence, impeding the full exercise of their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. [Read the document] 3. Memorandum of understanding UNICEF-Organisation of the American StatesInter-American Development Bank [in Spanish] In this Memorandum of Understanding for full co-operation in the area of civil registries signed on the 8 August 2006, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) undertook to achieve universal registration in Latin America and the Caribbean. [Read the document]
In 2004 took place, in Dominican Republic, the "Children with names” programme. More than four hundred minors were registered.
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Birth Registration in Latin America and the Caribbean
Best practices 1. Good Practices in Integrating Birth Registration into Health Systems (2000 to 2009). Case studies: Bangladesh, Brazil, Gambia and Delhi, India UNICEF 2010 Four case studies are presented in this document analysing the integration of birth registration into health services. [Read the document] 2. Systemisation of experiences on the right to identity and birth registration for indigenous children in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama [in Spanish] Plan International; UNICEF 2009 This document identifies some proposals that can be suggested to help States facilitate and organise the registration process from an intercultural perspective. [Read the document] 3. National Commitment for the Eradication of Under-registration of Births in Brazil Rates of birth registration in the extremely poor sectors of north and north-eastern Brazil increased substantially following the adoption of a national plan of action accompanied by public funding, political commitment and cash incentives to maternity wards for every child registered. This document explains the strategy used. [Read the document] 4. Compilation of good practices presented by delegation countries in the first Latin America Regional Conference on the Right to Identity and Universal Birth Registration [in Spanish] August 2007 The document presents a compilation of successful experiences from 12 countries in the region that have promoted access to identity and documentation of children and adolescents and have raised public awareness on birth registration as a basic individual right. [Read the document]
Resources 1. Publications The Organisation of American States Model Framework Law for Civil Registry in Latin America [in Spanish] Organisation of American States-PUICA, 2009 The fundamental objective of this framework law is to generate a system of civil registry and identity that encourages universal civil identity through the inclusion of human rights standards. [Read the document]
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Birth registration and armed conflict Innocenti Insight, 2007 Provides a review of the problem of non-registration in countries affected by conflict, using case studies as a basis to analyse successful initiatives and undertakings that ensure registration. The document aims to help professional fieldworkers in conflict and post-conflict situations to promote new practices that guarantee the right of the child to registration and therefore the enjoyment of many other rights. The examples described here can be adapted and implemented in national contexts. [Read the document] Birth registration and childhood UNICEF 2007. Public Policy Series Presents a brief description of obstacles to universal birth registration in the region and the consequences for unregistered children before suggesting measures to help achieve this right. [Read the document] Birth registry: Consequences related to access to rights and social services and the implementation of poverty reduction programmes in six countries of Latin America [in Spanish] Inter-American Development Bank, 2007 This research examines the relationship between the lack of birth registration or identity documents and access to benefits and social programmes for children and adults and the implications of this on the social and economic development of Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru. It goes on to propose recommendations for possible future interventions from the Inter-American Development Bank in this field. [Read the document] The "Rights" start to Life UNICEF, 2005 This document analyses the reasons for the lack of registration from a global perspective. It also presents the link between statistical indicators on health education and poverty, revealing possible links in programming that could promote the registration of children. The document ends with recommendations that can be used to develop programming perspectives to improve birth registration rates. [Read the document] Birth Registration: Right from the Start Innocenti Digest No. 9, March 2002 This issue of the Innocenti Digest studied the situation of children denied a fundamental human right and who, from a purely legal point of view, do not even exist. Having no documentary proof of their age or even their identity tends to place these children among the millions of human beings who face discrimination and find it impossible to access basic services such as health and education. This inability to prove their age and identity that may also mean they miss out on protection against abuse and exploitation. [Read the document]
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Birth Registration in Latin America and the Caribbean
2. Videos Birth registration-Brazil [in Portuguese] Video produced by Red Globo and UNICEF Brazil to promote the right of every child and adolescent to free civil registration [Watch the video] National programme of registration and identity documentation “Put your name on Ecuador” [in Spanish] Produced by UNICEF Ecuador, this video shows how the National Programme of Registration and Identity Documentation is being unfolded in the most remote Amazonian areas of Ecuador in order for all children and adolescents to have an identity document. [Watch the video] “Write me down. Make me visible” [in Spanish] In February 2005, Plan International launched the global Universal Birth Registration Campaign to lobby for and defend the rights of children enshrined in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. This video shows the programme delivered by Plan in Colombia in alliance with the National Civil Registry, UNHCR, IMO and UNICEF. [Watch the video] Under the same title ―Write me down. Make me visible,‖ UNICEF made a video to promote birth registration on a regional level. [in Spanish] [Watch the video]
3. Links of interest Childinfo.org UNICEF plays a central role in monitoring the situation of children and women, assisting countries in collecting and analyzing data, supporting the development of methodologies and indicators, maintaining global databases up-to-date, and disseminating and publishing this data. This website contains statistical information and technical resources conducted by UNICEF through Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). [Web page] Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank, the Organisation of American States and UNICEF cooperate to achieve the target of universal, free and timely birth registration in Latin America and the Caribbean. [Web page] [Publications]
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Latin American and Caribbean Council of Civil Registration, Identity and Vital Statistics (CLARCIEV) This entity unites institutions for civil registration in Latin America in order to provide a space for the exchange of experiences in the registration and identification of people and to promote support between registry institutions in order to strengthen these. [Web page] The Organisation of American States-Civil Identity Programme in the Americas (PUICA) The Organisation of American States seeks registration of all citizens of Member States through this programme. [Web page] [Publications] Plan International Plan International is a non-governmental organisation that works in favour of children. Working with UNICEF, it has mobilised human and financial resources to promote and guarantee universal registration of newborns and also to promote the registration of children and adolescents who have no birth certificate. [Web page] [Publications] UNICEF-Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office The Convention on the Rights of the Child, approved by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989 explicitly states the right to identity in article 8, where it says that States Parties ―undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations, as recognized by law without unlawful interference.‖ UNICEF works to promote the right to identity and universal, free and timely registration for children working toward zero under-registration by 2015. [Web page] [Publications]
In Bolivia, Departmental Civil Registry Offices operate in the capitals of the nine departments. They have dependencies known as Civil Registry Sub-Offices distributed throughout all provinces of the country, although most are in the main urban centres.
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Birth Registration in Latin America and the Caribbean
Real life stories 1. Adalid Roca’s story - Bolivia A campaign for the free registration of children up to seven years old, promoted by the National electoral Court of Bolivia in 2003 has led to more than 32,000 children like Adalid Roca being issued with a birth certificate. [Read the story] 2. Santa Quiteria, citizen municipality - Brazil Santa Quiteria, in the Semiárido de Maranhão region, is the first Brazilian municipality to achieve the eradication of birth under-registration. The campaign, initiated in November 2003 and completed in 2005, has led to the registration of 2,500 children, young people, adults and old people from 82 communities. [Read the story] 3. “Tales of the River”: Registering history - Colombia Opción Legal, the national registry, UNHCR, IMO and UNICEF held civil registration days along the Cajambre, Yurumangui, Mayorqui, Raposo and Achicaya rivers. More than 6,000 people turned out for the occasion, because it was free! [Read the story] 4. First-rate citizens - Guatemala [in Spanish] The Women's Office of the Municipality of Jocotán and the Collective for the Defence of the Rights of Women (CODEFEM) launched a project to help women get their first identity card. More than 1,500 women were registered, a clear demonstration of recognition of the citizen rights of Guatemalan women. [Read the story] 5. UNICEF Supports prompt birth registration of children in Chiapas as part of its efforts to address equity gaps-Mexico Chiapas has become a reference in addressing obstacles to birth registration in the country, where the implementation of many of these strategies has demonstrated direct results, not only in guaranteeing children´s right to a name and nationality, but also their subsequent access to health, education and social protection. [Read the story] 6. More hope, more citizens in Prinzapolka - Nicaragua [in Spanish] In Nicaragua the birth registration process is free until a child is one year old, but after that it becomes very costly (nearly USD200), meaning that more than 95% of children in the municipality of Prinzapolka were not registered. An initiative between UNICEF and local institutions offered free registration in this and other remote areas. [Read the story] 7. My birth - Dominican Republic Between 2001 and 2005, the Catholic Church and UNICEF rolled out the National Campaign for the Right to Name and Nationality for children under 12 years old. This facilitated late birth registrations and led to the registration of more than 30,000 people. .[Read the story] 8. Trio for Life-Venezuela Trio for Life, is a strategy implemented by the Ministry of Health of Venezuela, provides three key basic services for children across the country. Through this programme, both urban as well as rural areas of Venezuela can register births, get children immunized, and create awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding. With UNICEF support, created the first civil registration office in a hospital. [Read the story]
For more information: Nadine Perrault, Senior Advisor Child Protection nperrault@unicef.org Begoña Arellano, Child Protection Specialist, barellano@unicef.org Tamar Hahn, Communication Specialist, thahn@unicef.org UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office Av. Alberto Oriol Tejada, Edificio No. 102, Ciudad del Saber Panama, Republic of Panama Telephone: + 507 301 7400 www.unicef.org/lac