A/HRC/39/30 regarding birth registration. While the immediate registration of all births is a priority, provisions to accommodate late registration have contributed to increased registration rates. A programme of electronic “pre-registration” is also being piloted, whereby information regarding the expected birth of a child is registered during a mother’s pregnancy.31 37. In Mexico, the right to legal identity and birth registration is recognized by the Constitution, which contains provisions to ensure that a lack of documentary evidence proving the identity of a child will not act as a barrier to guaranteeing his or her rights. Policies and programmes are in place to ensure the location and identification of unregistered children, who are primarily those living in rural municipalities and from certain population groups, including Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo and Tabasco.32 38. In Togo, there is a legal obligation to report any unregistered child found abandoned or in other situations of vulnerability, to the authorities. In order to ensure birth registration for children in remote areas, mobile courts have been established in partnership with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and UNICEF. Auxiliary registration centres have been set up in districts and villages to support access to birth registration for those living in rural areas who are not able to reach primary registration centres. 33 39. In Montenegro, decentralized procedures involving local courts have been established, particularly to ensure the registration of children from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian population, who are at heightened risk of missing out on birth registration when they are born outside of medical institutions. Following legal reforms, local courts can now submit birth registration information to the civil registry, and those registering the birth are not required to pay any fees or taxes. 34 1. Raising awareness 40. A central element of ensuring access to birth registration is ensuring that children, their parents or guardians and their wider communities are aware of the right to birth registration and of the responsibilities and benefits that go with it. All too often it is seen as a bureaucratic formality, and the consequences of non-registration are not understood. Reaching marginalized groups through culturally sensitive awareness-raising efforts has been effective in raising the demand for birth registration. Outreach may include awareness-raising campaigns through television or radio, or implementing local theatre and community discussion groups. 41. In Nicaragua, the Government partnered with UNICEF to implement a participatory project to strengthen birth registration within the most marginalized communities. In consultation with families, it was found that many parents regarded birth registration as a difficult, costly process with little direct benefit. Solutions were sought to integrate birth registration with existing local practices, and following a participatory planning process involving workshops with community leaders and representatives, local health centres were identified as suitable locations to install mobile registry points. Religious leaders agreed to play a key role in raising awareness of the rights and benefits associated with birth registration.35 42. In partnership with UNICEF and Plan International, the Government of Indonesia rolled out a decentralized birth registration system in over 60 districts, which functioned by building local capacity and giving authority and responsibility to village leaders, schoolteachers and midwives. Registration offices were established in remote areas, and public information campaigns were carried out to raise awareness about the importance of birth registration, which led to increased public demand for civil registration. This initiative 31 32 33 34 35 Submission from Chile. Submission from Mexico. Submission from Togo. Submission from Montenegro. UNICEF, “Prototyping human-centered policies for children in Nicaragua”, 15 January 2016, available at https://blogs.unicef.org/innovation/prototyping-human-centered-policies-for-children-innicaragua/. 9