Each Year 2 million children are not registered
Luis Vera
Plan International, has praised the "1st Latin American Regional Conference on Birth Registration and the Right to Identity" as a giant step in the battle to register children currently living without any birth certificate or legal identity.
The sheer numbers, highlight the scale of the issue facing the continent. Throughout the region, one in six children born children do not legally exist because they were not registered at birth and have no formal or official identity. Without a birth certificate millions of children are excluded from basic services such as health and education and face daily exploitation and risk.
While the numbers of unregistered vary from between 12-35 percent throughout the region, closer inspection reveals a very different picture. It means that there are entire communities or ethnic groups who simply do not exist: They have no official contact with the State, receive nothing from the state, and give nothing to the state.
Speaking from Asunción, Plan CEO, Tom Miller, said "These numbers are staggering and increasing dramatically. Each year 2 million children are born with no legal identity. Every day and everywhere people without any legal form of identity fight a constant uphill struggle for active involvement in society and access to their basic rights and social services."
Birth registration is not only essential for the safety and development of the children; it is also essential for the development of the countries. Children who have full and legal access to health and education services grow up into fully participating citizens. At the national level, registration provides governments with specific information on their populations and lets them make better use of increasingly limited resources - ensuring State funds go further and to where they are most needed.
"In an increasingly complex world, birth registration and identity will become increasingly vital for the governments of the region. As urban migration and limited resources increase, the need for clear and precise population information will become even more valuable. That is why we need sustainable solutions now" added Miller
The conference, the first of its kind in the region, is bringing together the leading experts on birth registration from all sectors, to find common ways to deal with the rapidly growing issue. It is designed to achieve consensus and form the basis of regional and national plans that will guarantee free, universal and timely birth registration for all children by 2015. The event also looks to sensitise public opinion to the importance of birth registration as a means of access to children's rights. While a birth certificate alone is not a guarantee, registration helps identify and legally protect marginalised and vulnerable children.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
