By Fernando Álvarez: Ex IMF Economist
According to the thirteenth issue of the bulletin Challenges launched in late December 2011 by ECLAC and UNICEF, it is estimated that 10% of children under the age of five in Latin America and the Caribbean are not registered, which infringes their ability to exercise their social, economic, civil and cultural rights.
The article "A rights-based approach to birth registration in Latin America and the Caribbean", which is included in the latest issue of the joint publication, highlights that in total there are 6.5 million children without birth certificates in the region. It indicates that universal registration means registering all children born in a country's territory, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, economic position, geographic origin or migration status, or their parents' nationality. According to the article, one of the main barriers to overcome in order to make progress in this area is the requirements that the parents must meet. For example, the mother might be required to go with the father when registering the child, or the parents might have to submit their own birth certificates or proof that they reside in a certain city or country.
The article included in the bulletin states that non-fulfillment of the right to identity and universal registration does the most harm to children in the poorest, most marginalized population segments in the region, such as indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, migrants and families living in rural, remote or border areas.
In the publication, it is suggested that "unfortunately, a birth certificate is still one of the main requirements for access to school, health and other social services." It adds that "in many countries, unregistered children have access to primary school but do not receive a certification of completion and so cannot go on to secondary school." The proportion of under-fives registered in Latin America and the Caribbean went from 82% in 2006 to 90% in 2010, approaching the regional goal of complete coverage by 2015. However, the rising regional average masks wide gaps between States, provinces, municipalities and socio-economic groups within the countries.
According to a regional assessment of progress and remaining challenges in birth registration currently being prepared at UNICEF-TACRO, civil registries have invested more than US$ 2 billion to guarantee complete coverage since 2007. This trend is promising, but major challenges remain. According to The State of the World's Children 2011 (UNICEF, 2011), mentioned in the main article of the bulletin, under-registration fell by a negligible 1% in 2010. Therefore, failure to reduce under-registration by 3% a year starting in 2011 could jeopardize the goal of full birth registration coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2015.
While Chile and Cuba may be able to achieve universal birth registration very shortly, in 2010 almost 30% of all children in Haiti, 24% in Brazil and 19% in Nicaragua were not registered. "The right to an identity and universal registration should be a priority. In most countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, a boy or girl without a birth certificate cannot exercise his or her human rights and is therefore unlikely to develop to full potential," stresses the main article of ECLAC-UNICEF bulletin. "In order to achieve the regional goal of universal, free and timely registration, the region's States, with support from civil society and international development cooperation, must tear down more than economic barriers. They also must eliminate all discrimination that limits inscription in the registries," indicates the publication.
At the same time, coordination between civil registries and social programmes must be ensured in order to achieve full inclusion and avoid obstacles to the provision of services for children.
Challenges is a joint publication produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) which records the progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals on childhood and adolescence.
