Birth Registration Benefits and International Standards

PACIFIC REGIONAL WORSHOP ON LEGAL IDENTITY AND IDENTITY SECURITY 8-10 July 2019, Noumea Birth Registration and Legal Identity and Child Survival, Development and Protection

Birth Registration and Childrens Rights Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Article 7: The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name and to a nationality. Article 8: right to identity. Birth registration contributes to the fulfillment of other rights Right to survival, development, protection (from neglect, abuse, exploitation): access to services (health, education, social support, social protection, etc.), and participation (various instances, voting) Directly and indirectly (statistical purposes for planning)

Birth Registration and Child Protection Age determination provides protection from exploitation and abuse, and access to special protective measures which are a State obligation (CRC Art.19) Minimum age Work/Employment and working conditions according to age in 2 Pacific countries 21% of children 5-11 are doing inappropriate work Marriage: in 5 out of 8 PIC 20%-26% girls married below 18 Sexual consent Criminal responsibility Special protective measures applicable to children victims, witnesses or perpetrators of crime, and to children without parental care - at police stations, in courts and by social services mandated for child protection by legislation

International Standards for Birth Registration Main principles: free access and universal coverage Free access: no charge for registration, late registration and issuance of first certificate Universal coverage: in the interest of individuals and the State; non- discrimination regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender or any other trait; use of registration also based on non-discrimination. Other requirements Continuity, permanence and availability: stable and permanent institution mandated by civil registration law; records to be kept forever. Compulsoriness: by law. Confidentiality of personal information: management, organization, rules and regulations, archiving practices, ethics, competence Timeliness: registration window (often in the first 30-60 days), key to achieving universal legal identity. Late registration involves higher costs and more difficult processes. Accuracy: of the information recorded (age, sex, parentage, nationality of parents) - implications for individual rights and obligations

Cost of Birth Registration Services New Born Registration Cost of Birth Registration Within time limit Free within 14 days Late registration Time limit Cost of Birth Certificate Cost of Birth Registration Cost of Birth Certificate Country Cook Islands Law 1 month Practice 14 days. NZD 25 NZD 20 Penalty per each month delayed from DOB NZD 25 Fiji F S M 1 year No time limit Free Free FJD 2 USD 2 FJD 9 Free FJD 2 USD 2 Pohnpei No time limit Free USD 3 Free USD 3 Kosrae No time limit Free USD 2 Free USD 2 Yap Chuuk Kiribati Nauru Niue Palau RMI Samoa Solomon Islands 12 months Free Free Free AUD 10 AUD 9 Included in AUD 9 AUD 10 10 days Free USD 2 USD 25 USD 2 3 months 6 weeks Free Free for children born in health facilities WST 15 Free for children born in health facilities WST 20 SBD 10 WST 15 Included in SBD 10 Tokelau Tonga Law 3 weeks Practice 3 months Law 10 days Practice 6 months Free TOP 10 TOP 16 to lodge + lawyers fees documents preparation Birth Notification 5 Court assessment 10 Declaration 10 Late registration 4 Total of AUD 29 Free Included in TOP 16 Tuvalu Free within 3 months AUD 10 AUD 10 Vanuatu 21 days Free Free VUV 1500

Coverage - Birth Registration Indicators SDG 16.9.1 Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by age Household Surveys (DHS/MICS, Census): % of children under age five (0 to 59 months) with a birth certificate or whose birth was reported as registered with civil authorities at the time of the survey. CRVS Administrative Data: Cumulative numbers/ Demographic projections UNICEF Annual Monitoring Absolute number: Birth notification, registration, certificate, by age groups: Under 1; 1 to 4; 5 to 17 Annual reduction in gap between registration & certificate

Issues with Birth Registration Data Lack of data Cook Fiji Kiribati 2009 RMI 2007 FSM Nauru 2007 Palau Samoa 2009 2014 2019 Solomon 2007 2015 Tonga 2012 Tuvalu 2007 Vanuatu 2009 2013 2020 DHS 2020 2018 2020 2019 2019 2019 2019 MICS Planned surveys UNICEF/UNFPA-supported MICS Workshop in March 2018 in Nadi attended by Ministry of Health and National Institute of Statistics from 10 PICT s + training for 2019 countries in 2018 Need for data Planning and monitoring Advocacy for legal reform if needed and resource allocation

Issues with Birth Registration Data Discrepancies between figures from routine administrative data (CRO) and DHS/MICS or other national HH surveys (e.g. Census) Birth registration of children under five years of age Country Year Value Source Year Value Source CRO Oct. 2017 CRO 2016 Cook Fiji Kiribati Nauru RMI Samoa Solomon Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu *Birth notification rate is higher there is a backlog for entry of notifications into the system. 2013 70% MDG 88% 78% 2009 2007 2007 2009 2007 2012 2007 2009 94% 83% 96% 47.7% 79.1% 93.5% 50% 45% DHS DHS DHS DHS DHS DHS DHS DHS 2017 2014 2015 2016 83.8% 58.6% 88% 97% ICHNS DHS DHS Census 44%* 88.3% 2013 75.5% DHS 62% DHS: Demographic and Health Survey ICHNS: Integrated Child Health and Nutrition Survey MDG: Millennium Development Goals Profile

Discrepancies in birth registration coverage figures Birth registration of children under one year of age Country Year Value Source Year Value Source Comments Fiji Kiribati Samoa Solomon Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Jan-Oct 2018 Jan-Oct 2018 Jan-Oct 2018 Jan-Oct 2018 49% 64% 49% 11% CRO CRO CRO CRO 2017 2016 2016 2017 2014 37% 96% 83.6% 69% 92.5% CRO Census CRO CRO CRO Notif. 78% Jan-Oct 2018 59% CRO CRO: Civil Registration Office system

Priorities and Way Forward What are the objectives with regard to children? Newborn and under five coverage fairly high in the region, should improve even more in coming years: 1st objective is sustainable systematic newborn registration SDG Indicator 16.9.1 is for under five only, but also aiming at higher coverage rates for all under 18 collaboration with schools, and other entities for out-of-school teenagers; catch up campaigns with fee waiver for a limited period of time; etc.

Obstacles to Universal Systematic Newborn Birth Registration Inadequate legislation e.g. not free, time limit too short, too centralized, etc. Logistics constraints Distance to service, remoteness Inadequate services Lack of personnel or training of personnel Lack of equipment Lack of knowledge No knowledge of service and requirements Lack of awareness No awareness of importance of birth registration

UNICEF Support to Birth Registration Legal and policy development Legal reform free and universal registration Costed national plan human & financial resource allocation National coordination mechanism multi-sector Capacity building Training of personnel Supervision and monitoring Service delivery Computer equipment Mobile registration Communication Information on services: location, requirements Awareness raising on importance of birth registration