A/HRC/27/22 consistently urged States to intensify their efforts in order to ensure the implementation of the right of the child to birth registration as recognized by law. The Human Rights Council has also addressed the issue of birth registration in thematic resolutions, including on migration, the rights of the child, arbitrary deprivation of nationality and the fight against sexual violence against children. IV. Impact of non-registration on human rights 17. The right to birth registration is not only a right of the child but of all human beings. Birth registration, and more especially a birth certificate, is a life-long passport for the recognition of rights, which may be necessary to, inter alia, vote, marry or secure formal employment. In some countries, it may be needed to obtain a driver’s licence, to open a bank account, to have access to social security or a pension, to obtain insurance or a line of credit, and, significantly, to be able to register one’s own children. It is also vitally important for securing inheritance and property rights, particularly for women and within families. A recent country-specific study suggests that further research is needed to evaluate fully the link between access to services and birth registration.17 18. The right to birth registration is closely linked to the realization of many other rights, and has profound consequences for children’s enjoyment of their rights with regard to protection, nationality, access to social and health services, and education. In particular, inequality in birth registration rates may compound inequalities in access to basic services,18 besides heightening discrimination and vulnerability. An effective civil registration and statistics system is therefore an important first step to ensuring the protection of children. A. Right to education 19. Birth registration can have a fundamental impact on the right to education for children. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has, on numerous occasions, expressed concern at cases of children without a birth certificate being refused schooling, in violation of their right to education under article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, in some countries, while children are permitted to attend primary school without evidence of birth registration, a certificate is required to be able to take the final school examinations and thus to receive relevant academic qualifications or to progress to secondary school. Access to educational scholarships, free books and uniforms also often depend on the presentation of a birth certificate.19 20. While some States have argued that the requirement for registration to attend school reinforces both education and demand for registration, the relationship between these services is ambiguous; such requirements can even have a negative impact if birth registration is not universally accessible.20 Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, States have an obligation to ensure compulsory and free primary education for all. In its general comment 17 18 19 20 6 Plan International, Birth Registration and Children’s Rights: A Complex Story, May 2014. Available from http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/publications/campaigns/birthregistration-research/. UNICEF, A Passport to Protection (see footnote 3), p. 20. Plan International, Count Every Child: The Right to Birth Registration, 2009 (available from http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/publications/campaigns/count-every-child/), p. 19. UNICEF, A Passport to Protection (see footnote 3).