A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term “birth certificate” can refer to either the original document about the circumstances of the birth, or to a certified copy of the ensuing registration of that birth. The UN states that “the births of around one in four children under age 5 worldwide are never officially recovered, depriving them of a proof of legal identity crucial for the protection of their rights and for access to justice and social service.” It was recorded that globally birth registration had “occurred for 73 per cent of children under 5, but only 46 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africa have had their births registered.” Therefore SDG 16.9 aims to “By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.” Birth registration is almost standard in most high-income countries, but in low- and middle-income countries, approximately 166 million children are not. Half of these 166 million children live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
As mentioned above, the lack of birth registration deprives people of proof of legal identity, which is necessary for human rights protection and access to justice and social services, however this needs to be looked at in more depth. Without legal proof of identity, children are left uncounted and invisible. The quarter of undocumented children matter, but organisations cannot protect them if the government doesn’t know they even exist.
Not only is birth registration a fundamental human right, but it also helps ensure that children’s other rights are upheld – like the rights to protection from violence, abuse, and exploitation, and essential social services like health care and justice. The information collected from birth registration helps governments plan which areas to focus funding on for development programmes. Birth certificates act as a proof of age, so without one, children are at a much higher risk of being forced into early marriage, the labour market, or being recruited into armed forces. It can also help protect migrant and refugee children against family separation, trafficking, and illegal adoption. Without a birth certificate, many children can’t get the necessary vaccines and other healthcare services. They may be unable to attend school or register for exams. As a result, their future job opportunities are extremely limited, which makes them more likely to live in poverty. In young adulthood, people need this official identification for basic but important transactions such as opening a bank account, registering to vote, getting a passport, entering the formal job market, or buying or inheriting property.
FRANCE
Let’s look at France for a history of birth registration. Civil records (which include birth registration) have been mandatory since 1539, when King Francis I issued the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêt, which placed the whole of France under the jurisdiction of the royal law courts, and made French the language of those courts, and the official language of legal discourse. Under this, parishes were ordered to record baptisms, marriages, and sepulchres (burials). In 1667 the parishes were asked to issue two registers in two different places in order to avoid the loss of data. Then, in 1792, birth, civil marriages, and death replaced baptism, religious marriage, and sepulchres. Additionally, the records became more relevant, and they were kept by an official rather than a priest. The Code civil created the compulsory birth certificate in 1804 (in its articles 34, 38, 39 and 57). A note was also added on the certificate at one's marriage, divorce, and death.
HOW TO ENSURE GLOBAL BIRTH REGISTRATION
1) MAKE BIRTH REGISTRATION FREE
Roughly 3 in 4 children live in Sub-Saharan African countries, where you must pay a fee for birth registration. If the governments were to remove this fee, it would remove a barrier stopping people from registering the birth of their children.
2) MAKE REGISTRATION OFFICES MORE ACCESSIBLE
There is often a large distance between healthcare services and registration offices. If we were to close this distance, particularly to maternity services, it would make registering a child easier.
3) REMOVE LEGAL AND REGULATORY BARRIERS
Some countries require that women disclose the identity of the child’s father. This social controversy often discourages women from registering their child’s birth. The United Nations recommends that a mother’s marital status should not be included in a legal document.
4) SUPPORT OPENCRVS
OpenCRVS is a global solution for birth registration. Plan-International is on a mission to ensure that every individual on the planet is recognised, protected, and provided for from birth. OpenCRVS is an open-source digital civil registration and vital statistics system that works in every country. It is free, adaptable, and designed with and for the people it serves. The software aims to increase registration rates, share registration data with health systems for the tracking of vaccinations and provide population data that is disaggregated by age, sex, and location for better policy making.
A company that analyses data from 174 countries shows that the proportion of children under five registered globally is up around 20 per cent from 10 years ago – increasing from 63 per cent to 75 per cent. Despite this, there are steps to be taken. We must continue to educate ourselves and others to support this initiative, “Provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.”