A/HRC/33/22 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 3 4 Human Rights Committee general comment No. 17 on the rights of the child, para. 7. Rachel Hodgkin and Peter Newell, Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF, 2007), p. 97.