A/HRC/27/22 G. Human trafficking 30. Individuals without birth registration or a birth certificate who wish to migrate are especially vulnerable to smuggling and trafficking. An individual without legal identity documents has to travel by illegal means and is more likely to have to rely on illicit intermediaries to facilitate migration.33 They are therefore at greater risk of trafficking and exploitation. 31. Furthermore, children who have not been registered are particularly vulnerable to child traffickers whether or not they are in a migration situation. The legal invisibility of unregistered children makes it more likely that their disappearance and exploitation will go unnoticed by authorities. This is particularly the case where the trafficking occurs across international borders; there is no proof of the child’s existence, so national authorities may be unwilling or unable to pursue the matter.34 H. Sale of children 32. Children without birth registration have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to exploitation in the area of illegal adoption and the sale of children. In certain countries, the illegal procurement, buying and selling of children for intercountry adoption was made possible through the falsification of documents and the production of false birth certificates. Children whose births are not registered are particularly targeted. In her recent report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography stated that children whose birth had been registered were less likely to be sold or illegally adopted, in part because they had proof of who their parents were.35 I. Armed conflict and emergency situations 33. Despite the prohibition of the involvement of children in armed conflict under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is estimated that there are 250,000 child soldiers active in the world today.36 The importance of birth registration can be seen in both the prevention of recruitment and of early conscription (for example, article 3, paragraph 3 (d) of the Optional Protocol requires voluntary recruits to provide reliable proof of age prior to acceptance) but also in protecting children’s rights after they have been rescued from this form of exploitation. 34. Where children have been exploited in armed conflict, birth registration is vital to ensure that they have effective access to justice, as successful prosecution requires proof that the individual was indeed a child at the time of recruitment. Furthermore, birth registration is of great importance in the reunification and reintegration process; where children are not registered, it is difficult to re-establish their identity and return them to their homes.37 35. The importance of birth registration is also manifest during and in the aftermath of emergency situations. In such situations, the separation of children from their parents and 33 34 35 36 37 Plan International, Count Every Child (see footnote 19), p. 22. UNICEF, Birth Registration: Right from the Start, Innocenti Digest No. 9, March 2002 (available from www.childinfo.org/files/birthregistration_Digestenglish.pdf), p. 5. A/66/228, para. 31 (a). War Child, “Child Soldiers” (available from www.warchild.org.uk/issues/child-soldiers). Plan International, Count Every Child (see footnote 19), p. 21. 9