NGO Position Paper for a UNHCR Conclusion on Birth Registration

An NGO Position Paper for a UNHCR Conclusion on Birth Registration has been developed jointly by NGOs working on children’s issues. The paper addresses the effects of not registering children at birth. As birth registration is a child’s right under the UNCRC, the paper recommends that States must make birth registration free of charge, accessible, available to all children, including asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced children, indigenous populations and immigrants, documented or otherwise, as well as stateless children. The paper also calls upon UNHCR and States to include birth registration as a key element within the commitments for States at the Ministerial-level Meeting of States Parties scheduled to take place on December 7-8, 2011.