Question

What are the future implications if a birth is not reported?

Answer 1

Ans. When a person does not have an officially established existence, there can be no birth certificate, no proof of age, no proof of biological parentage, no identification and no passport. Children with no birth certificate don’t exist before the law, and are in danger of remaining on the margins of society, or being shut out altogether. They are more likely to face major challenges in accessing healthcare, education and social assistance.

They are the first to fall through the cracks in protection systems; their ‘invisibility’ makes it more likely that discrimination, neglect and abuse they might experience will be unnoticed, and unchallenged. Without an age established by birth certificate, there is no protection against child labour, against being treated as an adult in the justice system, against forcible conscription in armed forces, against child marriage and trafficking.

Birth registration is also an essential part of a country’s civil registry, providing governments with vital statistics to support accurate planning and monitoring of a country’s education, health, social welfare and economic policies.

Ultimately, birth registration shows that children belong to a family, a community and a nation, and guarantees their right to assume their place in the social and political life of the country, as adults.