33/22 Strengthening policies and programmes for universal birth registration and vital statistics development - Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

GE.16-11318(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-third session

Agenda items 2 and 3

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Strengthening policies and programmes for universal birth registration and vital statistics development

Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Summary

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 28/13,

in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

to prepare a report on efforts made with regard to strengthening existing policies and

programmes aimed at universal birth registration and vital statistics development. The

report provides a summary of international legal obligations and implementation status,

followed by an overview of key considerations in relation to human rights-based

monitoring and implementation. It then takes stock of relevant activities undertaken by the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and partners to

strengthen universal birth registration and vital statistics.

Contents

Page

I. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3

II. Birth registration and vital statistics development ........................................................................... 4

A. International legal obligations ................................................................................................. 4

B. Implementation progress.......................................................................................................... 5

III. A human rights approach to monitoring and implementation of obligations ................................... 6

A. Challenges to implementation ................................................................................................. 6

B. Priorities to support universal registration ............................................................................... 8

C. Role of birth registration and vital statistics in the implementation of the Sustainable

Development Goals ................................................................................................................. 9

D. Leaving no one behind: a human rights-based approach to monitoring .................................. 11

IV. Stock-taking of relevant activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights and partners ....................................................................... 13

A. Global guidelines on a human rights-based approach to data and monitoring ........................ 13

B. Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals, targets and indicators ............................... 14

C. Partnership activities ................................................................................................................ 16

V. Conclusions and recommendations .................................................................................................. 17

I. Introduction

1. In its resolution 28/13, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on efforts made with regard to

strengthening existing policies and programmes aimed at universal birth registration and

vital statistics development, including to ensure that they were based on international

standards, taking into account best practices, and were implemented in accordance with

relevant international human rights obligations, and to submit it to the Human Rights

Council at its thirty-third session. That resolution built on Council resolution 22/7, in which

it requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

(OHCHR) to prepare a report on the legal, administrative, economic, physical and any other

barriers to access to universal birth registration and possession of documentary proof of

birth, as well as on good practices adopted by States in that regard.1

2. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 28/13, the present report provides a

summary of relevant international obligations and implementation status, followed by an

overview of key considerations in relation to human rights-based monitoring and

implementation, including in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It

then provides a stocktaking of the activities undertaken by OHCHR and partners to

strengthen policies and programmes aimed at universal birth registration and vital statistics

development.

3. Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition as a person before the law

are recognized as fundamental human rights, on the basis of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights, and as elaborated across a number of conventions and other relevant

international instruments. As birth registration establishes the recognition of a person

before the law, the registration of all children immediately after birth is fundamental to the

protection and realization of all human rights. When children are not registered at birth,

they are at risk of being deprived of other rights throughout their lives, including the right

to citizenship, health, education and social welfare. Children who are not registered at birth

also face increased vulnerability to marginalization, exclusion, discrimination, violence,

statelessness, exploitation and abuse, including in the form of child labour, trafficking and

child marriage. Moreover, the sound management of well-functioning civil registration and

vital statistics systems is an important contributor to accountability and good governance

within the State.

4. States must undertake due efforts to fulfil their obligation to ensure universal birth

registration as part of well-functioning civil registration systems. Progress in this regard has

been uneven, with evidence of substantial gaps in civil registration rates within and

between countries. States must ensure that civil registration systems and vital statistics

reflect the situation of all members of the population, regardless of their race, colour, sex,

language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property,

disability, birth or other status. Special measures are needed to ensure birth registration,

proof of identity and vital statistics for people living in situations of emergency and other

vulnerable situations.

1 That report was issued as document A/HRC/27/22.

II. Birth registration and vital statistics development

A. International legal obligations

5. As stated in article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has

the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. As the first step to

establishing the recognition of a person before the law, birth registration is the principal

foundation for the fulfilment of this right, and of the rights to which all persons are entitled

throughout their lives. Birth registration is a fundamental right recognized in article 24 of

the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that every child shall

be registered immediately after birth. The Human Rights Committee has specified the link

between that article and the provision on the right to special measures of protection, and

that the main purpose of birth registration is “to reduce the danger of abduction, sale of or

traffic in children, or of other types of treatment that are incompatible with the enjoyment

of the rights provided for in the Covenant.”2

6. Birth registration is also recognized as a right under article 7 of the Convention on

the Rights of the Child, which provides that, in addition to their right to be registered

immediately after birth, all children have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire

a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by their parents. In

accordance with the general principle of non-discrimination contained in the Convention,

States must fulfil the right to birth registration without discrimination of any kind, including

on the basis of the child’s or his or her guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion,

political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other

status. All children should have access to birth registration in the country where they are

born, including non-nationals, asylum seekers, refugees and stateless children.3 As per

article 8, when a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her

identity, States parties shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to

re-establishing speedily his or her identity.

7. The importance of birth registration and the impact of non-registration on the

enjoyment of the rights of the child are acknowledged by the Committee on the Rights of

the Child by way of general comments (see A/HRC/27/22). Lack of registration and a birth

certificate heightens the risk for a child later in life of entering into early marriage, or into

the labour market or the armed forces before the legal age. As per the Committee’s general

comment No. 7, children lacking a birth certificate and related identity documents are also

at risk of being denied their other basic rights, including the rights to health, education and

social welfare services. The Committee recommends that States take all necessary measures

to ensure that all children are registered at birth through a universal, well-managed

registration system that is accessible to all and free of charge.

8. The right to birth registration and legal identity is further reflected in the

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and

Members of Their Families (art. 29) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities (art. 18). In adulthood, birth certificates may be required to obtain formal sector

employment, to buy or prove the right to inherit property, to vote and to obtain a passport.

Non-registration therefore undermines fulfilment of the rights of all persons, inter alia, to

vote (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 25), the right to a nationality

(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 15) and the right of everyone to be free to

2 Human Rights Committee general comment No. 17 on the rights of the child, para. 7.

3 Rachel Hodgkin and Peter Newell, Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the

Child (UNICEF, 2007), p. 97.

leave any country, and not be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their own country

(International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 12).

9. The right to birth registration is also addressed in both international refugee law and

international humanitarian law,4 including in the conclusions on international protection of

the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees of 17 October 2013. The conclusions

emphasize the importance of birth registration in relation to refugees, asylum seekers and

stateless persons, and outline how a lack of civil registration and related documentation

makes persons vulnerable to statelessness and associated risks.

10 The obligation for States to ensure that all marriages are registered in an appropriate

official register is stipulated in the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for

Marriage and Registration of Marriages. The obligation to register deaths is implicit in

article 12 (2) (a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

which stipulates that necessary measures to realize the right to health include “reduction of

the still-birth rate and of infant mortality”, as the information necessary to monitor these

mortality rates is available only from a State’s register. The obligation to register deaths is

also implicit in the realization of other human rights, including rights concerning property,

inheritance and social security, and the right to remarry after the death of a spouse.

B. Implementation progress

11. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the average rate of

birth registration has been increasing moderately in recent years, from approximately 58 per

cent in 2000 to 65 per cent in 2010.5 In 2015, 123 countries reported having a birth

registration service within a civil registry which was free, continuous or permanent,

accessible, universal in coverage, timely and accurate. This reflects an increase from 114

countries in 2014. However, it is of great concern that the births of nearly one fourth of the

global population of children under 5 have never been registered.6 The largest gaps in

absolute terms persist in Asia, which accounts for 59 per cent of the global gap, followed

by sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 37 per cent.7 Nonetheless, certain countries

within South Asia and East and Southern Africa have made significant gains in registration

rates in recent years.8

12. On the basis of disaggregated data available on birth registration rates worldwide,

questions of equality and non-discrimination have become central to the implementation of

universal birth registration. Rates of registration continue to vary greatly within and

between countries – with the highest reaching 100 per cent, and the lowest merely 5 per

cent.9 In countries where registration rates have improved and reached high levels overall,

children from the poorest households are still twice as likely to be unregistered as those

from the richest.10 Moreover, implementation experience reflects that the children who are

most marginalized and discriminated against are those who remain unregistered and

uncounted. Even when countries reach registration rates as high as 70-90 per cent, it is the

4 See the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, arts. 1-6; and the Geneva Convention relative

to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, art. 50.

5 UNICEF, Annual Results Report 2015.

6 http://data.unicef.org/child-protection/birth-registration.html#sthash.U8UQ0bXj.dpuf.

7 UNICEF, “Every child’s birth right: inequities and trends in birth registration” (New York, 2013),

p. 15.

8 UNICEF, Annual Results Report 2015.

9 Ibid.

10 UNICEF, Progress for Children: Achieving the MDGs with Equity, No. 9 (September 2010), p. 45.

most vulnerable and marginalized children who are not being registered, including children

with disabilities, children from an indigenous minority groups, and children from families

who have been displaced, are stateless or have refugee status. For example, a lack of

registration persists among children from the Roma community in Central and Eastern

Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, indigenous children in the Latin

American and Caribbean region, and stateless children across regions, such as in Europe

and in Africa.11

13. There is a dearth of reliable information on global implementation of civil

registration aside from birth registration. Nonetheless, on the basis of the available global

data in this regard, the United Nations Statistics Division notes substantial overall

deficiencies in civil registration systems.12 One recent assessment based on composite data

found that from 2005 to 2009 only 36.2 per cent of total estimated global deaths were

registered, and that since 2000 there has been an improvement of approximately only 2 per

cent in global rates of death registration.13 While most countries do gather civil registration

information and generate vital statistics, the degree, quality and regularity of this varies

greatly. In less developed countries, civil registration systems tend to be weak and

comprised of incomplete and unreliable information. Moreover, refugee, stateless and

permanently displaced children are rarely captured in surveys or in national population

censuses.

III. A human rights approach to monitoring and implementation of obligations

A. Challenges to implementation

14. All children should be registered immediately after birth, or as soon as possible after

birth. The fulfilment of the right to birth registration is closely linked to the realization of

other rights, including the rights of the child. A birth certificate has further implications

throughout the course of life, and may be necessary to obtain a passport and other legal

documents, to enrol in education, to marry, to secure inheritance and property rights or to

secure formal employment. In some countries, it may be needed to obtain a driver’s licence,

to open a bank account, to access social security or to obtain insurance or financial credit.

Birth registration is also the primary basis for establishing nationality and the rights and

responsibilities of citizenship, including the right to vote and to participate in political life.

Moreover, non-registration places children at heightened risk of becoming victims of

trafficking, or of entering into marriage, the labour market, or the armed forces before the

legal age, and unequal access to birth registration exacerbates existing inequalities,

discrimination and vulnerability. Yet, the uneven progress towards implementation outlined

above reflects the persistence of barriers to the realization of universal birth registration,

and the fact that substantial gaps in registration rates within and between countries

primarily represent those most marginalized and in situations of vulnerability, who remain

invisible from vital statistics.

15. It is important to take account of the barriers contributing to this situation from a

human rights perspective. Many countries face difficulties in ensuring access to civil

11 UNICEF, Annual Results Report 2015.

12 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/CRVS/CR_coverage.htm.

13 Lene Mikkelsen and others, “A global assessment of civil registration and vital statistics systems:

monitoring data quality and progress” in The Lancet, vol. 386, No. 10001 (3 October 2015),

pp. 1395-1406.

registration for geographically remote or otherwise isolated communities. Underdeveloped

public transport and infrastructure, the costs of transport, and the time required away from

daily work to reach registration facilities are pervasive challenges in this regard. Civil

registration costs greatly limit access where fees levied exclude people on the basis of their

ability to pay. These may include official fees defined on the part of the State, and fees

imposed illegally by registrars. In addition, fines for late birth registration may act as a

disincentive to registration or make the costs unaffordable. Where the prerequisite

documentation required for registration is excessive or impossible to obtain, this poses a

further impediment. Moreover, where laws or penalties are in place to restrict the number

of children allowed per family, parents may avoid registering those born over and above the

allocated number, for whom discrimination and the human rights risks outlined above are

greatly exacerbated.

16. Social accessibility is equally important, and in some contexts people are excluded

from registration processes due to their language abilities or literacy levels. A lack of

awareness among the general public on the rights and benefits associated with civil

registration poses a major obstacle. Parents and communities may view registration as a

legal formality of second-order importance in relation to other challenges. This is

particularly the case for those living in poverty and situations of vulnerability, and in places

where fees are imposed for registration or certification. They may only become aware of

the right to register a child when facing related barriers to accessing health or education

services. Awareness-raising of the rights and benefits of registering births and other vital

events is fundamental to the development of civil registration systems.14 Children with

disabilities are overrepresented among those who are not registered, often due to reluctance

on the part of their parents or families to do so. This in turn limits their access to essential

services and places them at heightened risk.15

17. The registration of refugees and asylum seekers provides important information to

State administrations, and ultimately, where appropriate, may facilitate repatriation.

However, in some countries there is a lack of political will to register the births and other

vital events of refugees and asylum seekers, or children whose parents are not citizens or

are not in possession of their own identity documents due to their migration or other status.

Discriminatory policies and practices in this regard prevent these children and their families

from accessing associated rights and exacerbate their marginalization. Moreover, children

in such situations are at risk of being left stateless if they are unable to prove their

nationality.

18. Gender discrimination undermines birth registration in countries that allow only men

to register a child, or that refuse registration in the absence of the father or both parents.

This poses a particular risk for children born out of wedlock or as a result of rape, and for

children whose fathers or other male heads of household do not consent to their

registration.16 Some countries do not allow women to confer their nationality on their child;

if the father does not acknowledge the child, they are then at risk of being left stateless.

19. Of particular concern are the barriers faced in registering the births of children from

non-traditional family arrangements, who may be stigmatized, criminalized or not

recognized. These include children born to sex workers, women accused of witchcraft and

same-sex couples, along with those born with albinism, to name a few. Due to the acute

14 UNICEF, “Every child’s birth right”, p. 20.

15 See Committee on the Rights of the Child general comment No. 7 (2005), on implementing child

rights in early childhood, para. 25.

16 Plan International, “Mother to child: how discrimination prevents women registering the birth of their

child” (March 2012), p. 9.

stigma faced in these contexts, parents often do not disclose the birth of children in order to

protect their offspring. Special measures must be put in place to address these real and

serious concerns.

20. In situations of armed conflict, natural disaster and other emergencies, civil

registration may be disrupted, and existing barriers to registration tend to be exacerbated.

Populations may be displaced within or beyond State borders, causing problems with regard

to retrieving vital documents and continuing to register vital events. Moreover, civil records

may be destroyed due to natural disasters and other emergencies, particularly where civil

registration systems are not digitized.

21. The fulfillment of universal birth registration also strongly relies upon its

implementation as a part of well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics systems.

Civil registration systems officially register vital events, including births, deaths and causes

of death, adoptions, marriages and divorces. Well-functioning civil registration and vital

statistics systems provide the best source of continuous, reliable and universal national data

about the vital events of the population. They are also essential to the fulfilment of core

obligations of the State, including the progressive realization of human rights, as vital

statistics about the population are necessary for effective planning of development policies

and programmes, including public services. Moreover, information from civil registration

systems can be crucial to identifying, monitoring and remedying human rights abuses

against certain individuals or groups within a country, whereas a lack of data on births and

deaths concentrated among specific population groups has resulted in the systematic

underestimation of child mortality among these groups.17

22. Yet, some countries still do not acknowledge the importance of well-functioning

civil registration systems to development. In some cases, civil registration has been used to

control the population or as a tool for persecution, seriously affecting public trust in the

State. Civil registration laws and procedures are often outdated, failing to reflect the present

realities and information needs, and inadequate capacity and resource allocations pose a

significant barrier to the development of civil registration systems in many countries. For

example, inadequate resources can lead to non-registration due to inadequate registration

stationery and supplies. Countries also highlight the capacity challenges of insufficient

staffing, inadequately trained staff, deprioritization of registration activities by low-paid

officials and problems of fraud and corruption.

B. Priorities to support universal registration

23. Realizing the right to birth registration for all children requires that registration be

available and accessible for all. Special measures must be undertaken to ensure access for

those children most at risk, marginalized and living in situations of vulnerability,

particularly children from minority groups, children with disabilities, children from

indigenous communities and stateless children. Effective implementation strategies for

achieving universal registration have involved improvements in the enabling environment,

including the introduction of laws and policies to support and implement registration within

an equitable legal framework, increasing infrastructure for improved registration services

and training personnel.18 Interoperability has been particularly effective in promoting access

to civil registration services, whereby such services are provided via existing health or other

public service facilities.

17 Ibid., p. 11.

18 UNICEF, “A passport to protection: a guide to birth registration programming” (New York, 2013).

24. To realize universal birth registration, unreasonable documentation requirements and

all registration fees should be removed, birth certificates should be provided free of charge,

and fees or penalties for late registration should be waived. Registration forms and

materials should be provided in minority languages and in a comprehensible format.

Awareness-raising among children, their parents or guardians, and communities (especially

among community leaders) about the rights and benefits associated with birth registration is

essential to achieving behaviour change, and parents or guardians should be made aware of

their responsibility to register children. Moreover, access to essential services and

entitlements should not be conditional on being registered or in possession of a birth

certificate.19

25. The potential risk to privacy and the obligation of protection from discrimination

and harm must be taken into account in determining the information included in a birth

certificate. As such, the minimum information should be reflected on the birth certificate,

and details that may pose a risk should be omitted, such as those concerning race, ethnicity,

religion and parents’ marital status. The minimum information that should be recorded in a

birth registration is the child’s name, gender, and date and place of birth, along with the

parents’ names and addresses and the parents’ citizenship. To prevent discrimination, it

should not be mandatory to record the father’s name and details.20

26. Moreover, States must prioritize the development of well-functioning civil

registration systems that provide free and universal recording of vital events among the

population. Civil registration should be sustainable, continuous, permanent, compulsory

and universal, with records being kept securely by Governments, in a form that cannot

easily be destroyed, and which may be retrieved by an individual at any stage of his or her

life. The use of new technologies to expand vital event notification has shown promising

results, and can mitigate the risk of permanent loss of civil records, which is a risk in the

case of emergencies or natural disasters.21 Sensitive information obtained through birth

registration or other civil registration processes that may be used to discriminate against an

individual, such as ethnicity, race, religion or other factors relevant in a given context,

should be kept confidential by law.

27. The maximum available resources should be allocated for the development of civil

registration and vital statistics. While external funding can provide much-needed support, it

is crucial that civil registration and vital statistics be developed in a manner that is

continuous and permanent, through national ownership and the long-term allocation of

public funding.

C. Role of birth registration and vital statistics in the implementation

of the Sustainable Development Goals

28. In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, States emphasized that the

Sustainable Development Goals were to be implemented in a manner consistent with

19 Hodgkin and Newell, Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child,

p. 100; and Committee on the Rights of the Child general comment No. 7, para. 25.

20 UNICEF, “A passport to protection”.

21 Countries considering the introduction of information and communications technologies to civil

registration systems should take account of the relevant core guidelines available. See UNICEF and

Inter-American Development Bank, “Toward universal birth registration: a systemic approach to the

application of ICT”, Mia Harbitz and Kendra Gregson, eds. (2015), and the civil registration and vital

statistics digitization guidebook developed under the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement

of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems partnership initiative (www.crvs-dgb.org).

international law, and called for leaving no one behind and for more systematic monitoring

and data collection to help measure progress towards achieving the goals. Global agreement

on the Agenda therefore represents an important opportunity to intensify efforts to

strengthen universal birth registration and vital statistics development. It will support global

efforts in this regard primarily on the basis of target 16.9, in which Governments committed

to “by 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration”, as well as proposed

indicator 17.19.2 under Goal 17 on partnerships, to monitor the proportion of countries

having achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration.22

29. Global data reflect the fact that, while it is possible to bring about substantial overall

progress, the remaining unregistered children are frequently those who are most vulnerable

and marginalized.23 A focus on ensuring that no child is left behind, through an emphasis on

targeted measures to ensure universal registration of all children, will therefore be crucial to

the achievement of target 16.9.

30. The development of comprehensive civil registration systems to gather accurate,

timely, disaggregated data is vital to inform decision-making, programming and planning,

and therefore to the overall implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Well-functioning civil

registration systems are essential to bring about accountability for the implementation of

the 2030 Agenda, as they can provide the most reliable basis for monitoring multiple

Sustainable Development Goal targets. Disaggregated, reliable vital statistics are also

crucial to cast light on disparities in outcomes for specific groups, and can thereby support

greater equity and targeting of programmes to ensure that no one is left behind.

31. A number of Sustainable Development Goal targets are particularly dependent on

birth registration or the existence of well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics

systems. Birth registration and vital statistics are fundamental to the delivery and

monitoring of targets under Goal 16, on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies,

including to significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere

(target 16.1); to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and violence against and torture of

children (target 16.2); to develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions

(target 16.6); and to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-

making (target 16.7). They are also essential in relation to the implementation and

monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal targets reflecting economic, social and

cultural rights. For example, reliable, disaggregated data on mortality and causes of death

are necessary to monitor progress towards achieving health-related targets under Goal 3

(maternal and child mortality, addressing communicable and non-communicable diseases,

and universal health coverage). The implementation of targets under Goal 1, on ending

poverty, and Goal 4, on inclusive and equitable education, is dependent on birth registration

in countries where birth certificates and associated identity documents are needed to access

public services and benefits.

32. The fulfilment of universal birth registration is further relevant to preventing and

reducing risks of statelessness, human trafficking, child and early marriage, and child

labour (Goal 5, on gender equality; Goal 8, on decent work and economic growth; and

Goal 16), to support the protection and rights of refugees and others affected by disasters,

including by documenting links to country of origin, and through provision of information

crucial to humanitarian planning and disaster management and response (Goal 11, on cities

and human settlements).

22 See General Assembly resolution 70/1.

23 UNICEF, Annual Results Report 2015.

33. An integrated approach involving all relevant stakeholders, and incorporating civil

registration and vital statistics into relevant global, regional and national development

plans, is needed. Partnership cooperation at all levels, as defined under Sustainable

Development Goal 17 targets on the means of implementation, is crucial in terms of the

technical, capacity and financial support needed to strengthen civil registration and vital

statistics.

D. Leaving no one behind: a human rights-based approach to monitoring

34. In order to bring about accountability for delivering on the commitments contained

in the 2030 Agenda, particularly leaving no one behind and reaching those furthest behind

first, effective strategies for monitoring and data collection need to be in place at all levels.

The importance of an approach to monitoring and analysis that reveals the situation of all

individuals and groups within a country cannot be overemphasized, to close inequities in

outcomes and gaps in data coverage between different groups of the population. In response

to the promise that no one will be left behind, and related 2030 Agenda commitments to

equality, monitoring and review, there has been a strong drive to improve the availability

and quality of data, by way of greater data disaggregation and a “data revolution”. This

provides a key opportunity to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics as a reliable

source of data to reflect the situation of all groups of the population.

35. The commitment to improved and disaggregated data also offers an opportunity to

expand a human rights approach to data. However, at the same time, it poses challenges for

the protection of human rights. In accordance with international legal obligations, the

monitoring and review process should be carried out on the basis of a human rights

approach throughout the data collection process, and in relation to data disaggregation. This

requires implementation of the core human rights principles and standards identified by

OHCHR and partners in this respect, which include: (a) participation, (b) disaggregation,

(c) self-identification, (d) transparency, (e) privacy and (f) accountability.24

(a) Participation is instrumental to the realization of all components of a human

rights-based approach to data, and to retaining trust in official and other relevant data and

statistics. All data collection exercises should include means for the free, active and

meaningful participation of relevant stakeholders, in particular the most marginalized

population groups. Participation should be considered in relation to the entire data

collection process, from strategic planning through to data collection, storage, analysis and

dissemination. In some contexts, to ensure the protection of groups who may be

uncomfortable or threatened by the data collection, civil society organizations, national

human rights institutions and other relevant stakeholders should participate insofar as they

are competent to represent the groups’ interests;

(b) Data disaggregation is a human rights obligation, a commitment in the 2030

Agenda and a need that is recognized in national statistics systems. It is essential to reveal

and enable assessment of inequality and discrimination. A human rights approach in this

regard requires focusing on the most disadvantaged or marginalized groups, and on

inequalities within the population. Capacities and partnerships should be developed to

support States in collecting and publishing data disaggregated by grounds of discrimination

recognized in international human rights law, which include sex, age, ethnicity, migration

or displacement status, disability, religion, civil status, income, sexual orientation and

gender identity. Data disaggregation is not a value-neutral exercise, and the associated risks

must be addressed. A human rights approach requires that efforts to improve the quality and

24 These principles are further elaborated in OHCHR, “A human rights-based approach to data”.

use of disaggregated data be consistent with the protection of the right to privacy. A

participatory approach and the principle of self-identification can help improve response

rates among “hard-to-count” or marginalized populations, and is particularly relevant for

those who are discriminated against or excluded from traditional household surveys or

administrative records (e.g. homeless persons or migrants). In some contexts, civil society

organizations and service providers are best placed to reach these populations and collect

data. Decisions concerning collection of data on particularly vulnerable or marginalized

groups, including, “legally” invisible groups, for instance, should be made in close

partnership or consultation with the group concerned to mitigate associated risks. The

registration of children immediately after birth has an impact on the statistical system’s

capacity to disaggregate data, and is instrumental for the accuracy of vital statistics and the

sampling design of surveys;

(c) Self-identification is an essential principle in relation to the identity of an

individual or population group, relevant to data collection and the categorization of

populations in statistics. Respect for and protection of personal identity is central to human

dignity and human rights, and the overriding principle of doing no harm must be respected.

Whether it is necessary to include personal identity issues in data collection exercises

should be carefully assessed. Data collection exercises should not create or reinforce

discrimination, bias or stereotypes against population groups, and any objections by these

populations must be taken seriously by data producers. When a survey includes questions

on personal identity, those conducting interviews should receive gender and cultural

awareness training, including on possible issues of historical legacy;

(d) Transparency, or the “right to information”, is central to realization of

freedom of expression as specified in international human rights treaties, and plays a key

role in a democratic society and in the population’s entitlement to public information.25

Access to information on inequality among population groups is also important for civil

society and other stakeholder groups to monitor the realization of human rights more

generally. Fulfilment of the right to information in the production of statistics means that

civil society organizations should be able to publish and analyse statistics without fear of

reprisal, and should also seek to comply with international human rights and statistical

standards for their own data collection, storage and dissemination of statistical information;

(e) The right to privacy and data protection should be balanced with that of

access to information. Increased use of big data and demand for data disaggregation present

a challenge to the protection of these rights, as acknowledged in the call for a data

revolution.26 Personal data, including but not limited to data on ethnicity, sexual orientation,

gender identity or health status, should be handled only with the express consent of the

individual concerned. Data collected to produce statistical information must be strictly

confidential, used exclusively for statistical purposes and regulated by law, in accordance

with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Data should not be published

or publicly accessible in a manner that permits identification of individual data subjects,

either directly or indirectly, and should be secured against both natural and human dangers;

(f) In the context of the human rights approach to data, accountability refers to

data collection for accountability, as well as accountability in data collection. As State

institutions, national statistical offices are human rights duty-bearers with an obligation to

respect, protect and fulfil human rights in their daily exercise of statistical activities.

25 As outlined in the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.

26 See “A world that counts”, report prepared by the Independent Expert Advisory Group on a Data

Revolution for Sustainable Development (2014). Available from www.undatarevolution.org/wp-

content/uploads/2014/11/A-World-That-Counts.pdf.

Independent statistics, free from political interference, are fundamental tools to inform and

hold those in power accountable for their policy action (or inaction) through measuring

their impact on the protection and realization of human rights. Appropriately anonymized

microdata, including relevant and disaggregated indicators, should be made publicly

available to stakeholders to facilitate accountability.

IV. Stock-taking of relevant activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and partners

36. The activities of OHCHR in relation to birth registration and vital statistics

development have primarily been undertaken as part of its strategic priority to strengthen

the integration of human rights in the formulation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development. In this context, OHCHR has undertaken activities in three core

areas contributing to the strengthening of global policies and programmes addressing

universal birth registration and vital statistics development: (a) the development of global

guidelines on a human rights-based approach to data and monitoring to ensure that no one

is left behind in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;

(b) contributions to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals, targets and

indicators; and (c) partnership activities relevant to the strengthening of birth registration

and vital statistics.

A. Global guidelines on a human rights-based approach to data and

monitoring

37. OHCHR has supported uptake of global norms on a human rights-based approach to

data and monitoring through the development of a guidance note on a human rights-based

approach to data,27 recognized by chief statisticians from several countries, United Nations

agencies and civil society organizations as useful in the work on data collection and

disaggregation for the Sustainable Development Goals, and deemed consistent with the

Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. Moreover, the normative approach reflected

in the guidance note serves as an essential basis for supporting a human rights approach to

birth registration and vital statistics.

38. Extensive engagement has also been undertaken with partners to expand uptake of a

human rights approach to data. For example, OHCHR organized a side event entitled

“Leaving no one behind: how human rights guidance can help solve the Sustainable

Development Goal data disaggregation puzzle” on 9 March 2016, which was attended by

35 representatives of United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, national

statistical offices and missions.28 A human rights approach to data was further highlighted

through OHCHR participation in the events held in observance of World Statistics Day in

October 2015. In addition, public engagement was undertaken to strengthen awareness of a

human rights approach to data among civil society and other stakeholders, through online

communications and several further events on the topic.29 The guidance note mentioned

above has also been included in the United Nations portal on human rights-based

27 See OHCHR, “A human rights-based approach to data”, guidance note (2016). Available from

www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/HRIndicators/GuidanceNoteonApproachtoData.pdf.

28 For more information, see www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DataForSustainable

Development.aspx.

29 For more information, see www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/WorldStatisticsDay2015.aspx.

approaches to programming, which supports United Nations practitioners on such

approaches.30

39. Through OHCHR technical work and engagement with stakeholders on the

importance of human rights in monitoring and data management, this approach has gained

increasing support from national and international stakeholders, including statistical

organizations, national human rights institutions and civil society. This is reflected, for

example, in the Mérida Declaration on the role of national human rights institutions in

implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in October 2015 by

the Twelfth International Conference of the International Coordinating Committee of

National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, and in outcomes

of key events of the statistical community to which OHCHR provided contributions,

including the meeting of the Conference of European Statisticians in Geneva; the meeting

of the World Statistics Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the session of the United Nations

Statistical Commission held in New York; and the meetings of the Inter-Agency and Expert

Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators in New York and Bangkok.

40. OHCHR has engaged in related milestones in the process of defining the 2030

Agenda, including the 2014 report of the Secretary-General’s Independent Expert Advisory

Group on a Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, which called for a data

revolution grounded in human rights to monitor implementation of the 2030 Agenda. In

addition, OHCHR has received and responded to numerous requests from statistical offices

on capacity-building in human rights-based approaches to data for monitoring progress

towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal targets.

B. Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals, targets and indicators

Sustainable Development Goals and targets

41. OHCHR provided substantive input on the development of Sustainable

Development Goals and targets from early on in the process of defining the 2030 Agenda.

In this respect, OHCHR has engaged with United Nations agencies, civil society and

Governments to help define substantive priorities to address civil and political rights,

including the parameters of Goal 16 and target 16.9, on birth registration and legal identity.

OHCHR support for the elaboration of Goal 16 targets focused on strengthening their

alignment with civil and political rights encompassing personal security, fundamental

freedoms and accountability. This involved technical inputs on the inclusion of the right to

legal identity through birth registration, as reflected in the 2013 joint publication by

OHCHR and the Center for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entitled Who Will be

Accountable?. In that report, the need for a target addressing birth registration was clearly

identified, on the basis that a birth certificate was the official record of an individual’s

existence and his or her recognition as a person before the law.31

42. In 2013, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),

OHCHR conducted global and regional thematic consultations on governance, with the

input of all stakeholders, to further define how this theme could be effectively integrated

into the Sustainable Development Goal framework.32 Among others, OHCHR served as a

member of the advisory group for the global consultations on addressing inequalities that

30 http://hrbaportal.org/resources/a-human-rights-based-approach-to-data-leaving-no-one-behind-in-the-

2030-development-agenda.

31 OHCHR and Center for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Who Will be Accountable? (2013),

pp. 85-90. Available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/WhoWillBeAccountable.pdf.

32 www.worldwewant2030.org/governance.

was co-led by UNICEF and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the

Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), contributing to increased understanding of

equality as a fundamental human right and non-discrimination issue.33

43. Subsequently, OHCHR continued to provide contributions throughout the process to

define the 2030 Agenda via the United Nations Technical Support Team, to ensure that a

human rights approach was reflected in Goal 16 targets, and that a target on providing

universal legal identity through birth registration was included. During the negotiation

process, OHCHR provided support for the drafting of the Sustainable Development Goals,

and technical input was supplied, where requested, to support member State positions on

the draft agreement. OHCHR also engaged in further collaboration with civil society, the

United Nations system and other partners on the substance of Goal 16, for example through

the Virtual Network on Indicators for Sustainable Development Goal 16, led by UNDP, and

the Praia Group on Governance Statistics under the auspices of the United Nations

Statistical Commission.

Indicators

44. OHCHR has worked to support the development of Sustainable Development Goal

indicators that incorporate key human rights considerations, and to ensure the inclusion of

indicators to support the realization of universal legal identity. OHCHR develops policy

and practical guidance, provides technical advice and conducts training activities on human

rights indicators, to support national and international stakeholders in measuring and

monitoring the implementation of human rights standards. OHCHR has also participated

consistently in the work of the international statistical community to develop indicators for

monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals, with a view to strengthening human rights

approaches to measurement using statistical methods and tools.

45. The input of OHCHR to the development of indicators to monitor progress under

Goal 16 targets has been extensive. For example, OHCHR proposed the inclusion of an

indicator on monitoring target 16.9 to the United Nations Technical Support Team, the head

of chief statisticians of the United Nations system, and the Virtual Network on Indicators

for Sustainable Development Goal 16, and in the global list of indicators compiled by the

Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators.34 This

indicator (16.9.1) on the “proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have

been registered with a civil authority, by age”, has now been included in the global list of

indicators endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission.35 OHCHR subsequently

prepared metadata for this indicator in consultation with national statistics offices, United

Nations agencies, civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders.

46. As part of its efforts to integrate human rights considerations into the list of

indicators agreed to monitor progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, OHCHR has

undertaken substantial engagement with the United Nations Statistical Commission and

with the wider statistical community, for example, by participating in the 2016 session of

the Statistical Commission, which involved chief statisticians from member States, and

through its membership on the steering committee of the Praia Group on Governance

Statistics, a key forum through which to advance indicators related to governance and

indicators related to monitoring target 16.9, on birth registration. The substantive input of

OHCHR during the processes to define the 2030 Agenda goals, targets and indicators, as

33 www.worldwewant2030.org/inequalities.

34 See E/CN.3/2016/2/Rev.1, annex IV.

35 The Statistical Commission, in its decision 47/101, agreed with this list of indicators as a practical

starting point, subject to future technical refinement. See E/2016/24-E/CN.3/2016/34, chap. I.B.

outlined above, has been crucial to strengthening global norms on the importance of the

right to legal identity and to birth registration, as well as their eventual inclusion in the

Sustainable Development Goal targets and indicators framework.36

C. Partnership activities

47. United Nations, regional and civil society partners have made important

contributions to strengthen birth registration and vital statistics, taking into account human

rights considerations, both in collaboration with and independently of OHCHR. The United

Nations Statistics Division, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the United

Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) undertake extensive activities related to the

development of civil registration and vital statistics worldwide. These include a range of

global, regional and national activities, for example, in the form of knowledge

management, the development of standards and methods, monitoring and technical reports

on the status of civil registration and vital statistics, and expert group meetings and

workshops. UNICEF carries out comprehensive country programmes to support universal

birth registration, with a focus on strengthening coverage of the most vulnerable and

marginalized children. It works extensively with Governments in this regard to improve

legal frameworks, enhance interministerial cooperation, build human capacity and

infrastructure, and encourage innovation and development of information and

communications technologies for improved civil registration and vital statistics.

48. Working in partnership with international and regional organizations through the

Global Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Group, United Nations agencies seek to

strengthen international cooperation and alliances for civil registration and vital statistics

development in recognition of their value to human rights, good governance, and

development planning, monitoring and evaluation.37 Among various activities in this

regard, United Nations agencies are working in collaboration with partner countries and

stakeholders on the Global Financing Facility to accelerate progress in maternal and child

health, which specifically addresses the implementation of civil registration, including

through intersectoral and inter-agency contributions to regional initiatives. Key regional

initiatives have included the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil

Registration and Vital Statistics, and the Regional Strategic Plan for the Improvement of

Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific. These initiatives have

facilitated the engagement of a broad range of stakeholders in the development pf civil

registration and vital statistics, in partnership with the Economic and Social Commission

for Asia and the Pacific and the Economic Commission for Africa.

49. Alongside OHCHR, UNICEF, UNFPA and other agencies have made important

contributions to the work of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable

Development Goal Indicators in developing indicators for measuring progress on

Sustainable Development Goal target 16.9, on legal identity through birth registration.

Going forward, UNICEF will lead the compilation of data for monitoring the associated

indicator 16.9.1,38 and will continue to maintain a global database on birth registration for

children under 5, using both civil registration and vital statistics and household survey data.

50. A number of non-governmental organizations are also undertaking valuable

initiatives as part of global efforts to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics. As one

36 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld.

37 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/crvs/globalcrvs.html.

38 Proportion of children under the age of 5 whose births are reported as being registered with the

relevant national civil authorities.

notable example, Plan International recently published an assessment of the child rights

implications of non-registration,39 and has birth registration programmes in a total of 34

country offices, including several digital birth registration programmes. Plan International

is also a core member of the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil

Registration and Vital Statistics partnership initiative, and led the partnership in its

development of a civil registration and vital statistics digitization guidebook.40 Further to

this, Plan International provides guidance to identify and address risks to children in

digitized birth registration systems, and is a member of the regional steering group for civil

registration and vital statistics in Asia and the Pacific.

51. In order to support relevant work by partners and civil society, OHCHR has

undertaken a broad range of communications, public engagement and outreach activities.

For example, it has published interactive dashboards and world maps online to increase the

visibility of the ratification of human rights obligations, and initiated programmes to

strengthen the capacity of national stakeholders to make use of human rights indicators.41 In

order to strengthen the capacity of United Nations country teams to use human rights

indicators, a joint policy statement and guidance were issued in partnership with the United

Nations Development Group. Further to this, in 2015 OHCHR trained approximately 400

representatives of Governments, national human rights institutions, statistical organizations,

civil society organizations, and United Nations and other international organizations on the

development and use of human rights indicators.

V. Conclusions and recommendations

52. All children have a right to birth registration, which should be fulfilled through

the development of comprehensive, well-functioning systems for civil registration and

vital statistics. This is essential for the realization and monitoring of associated human

rights, as well as commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Yet, millions of people continue to be born and die without leaving a trace in civil

registration systems, and therefore remain uncounted in vital statistics and invisible in

development strategies.

53. The implementation of birth registration is varied and characterized by

disparities between regions and population groups. There is concerning evidence that

those who are unregistered continue to be children from the most marginalized

population groups, and those living in situations of vulnerability. The registration of

deaths is even further behind, in spite of its importance for monitoring the realization

of human rights and progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

54. In order to strengthen global efforts to achieve universal birth registration and

vital statistics development, a human rights approach to implementation and

monitoring is essential. This requires the prioritization of strategies to achieve

universality and non-discrimination in the implementation of civil registration

programmes, and a human rights approach to data and monitoring. The present

report identifies the following recommendations in these areas:

(a) Birth registration, certification and the registration of other vital events

must be made accessible to all, without discrimination of any kind, through special

39 Kara Apland and others, “Birth registration and children’s rights: a complex story” (Plan

International, 2014).

40 www.crvs-dgb.org.

41 http://indicators.ohchr.org.

measures to reach the poorest, most geographically or otherwise isolated and most

marginalized groups of the population;

(b) Specific measures in this respect should include the removal of

registration fees, penalties for late registration and unreasonable documentation

requirements, and efforts to make registration documents comprehensible and

available in minority and local languages;

(c) Awareness-raising on the rights, benefits and responsibilities of civil

registration is crucial to expanding registration rates. Interoperability, whereby civil

registration services are provided via existing health or other services, has

demonstrably supported access. Access to services and other entitlements should not

be conditional on being registered or in possession of a birth certificate;

(d) It is essential that civil registration processes be designed with a view to

ensuring non-discrimination and safeguarding against potential human rights risks,

including risks to the right to privacy. Minimal information should be recorded on

birth certificates, and any information obtained through civil registration processes

that may lead to discrimination against an individual should be kept confidential by

law;

(e) The commitment to improved and disaggregated data in the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development offers an opportunity to expand a human rights

approach to data, yet at the same time it poses challenges for the protection of human

rights. The Sustainable Development Goal monitoring and review process should be

carried out on the basis of core human rights principles and standards throughout the

data collection process, and in relation to data disaggregation.