Update on the universal birth registration system of Liberia
Published: 19/Nov/2013
Source: UNICEF
Birth registration and certification1 are recognized as a right of the child in Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to Article 7 (1): “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall 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 his or her parents.” In the absence of birth registration, verification of age of any person is impossible which has serious implications for young offenders, child in commercial sex (mostly girls), and child workers, etc. who are being denied access to special protection or treatment provided to them by law. This also makes reduction of early marriage of girls more difficult. Educational and health planning is also hampered by the absence of demographic data provided by birth registration Generally, birth certificate is a child’s ‘ticket to citizenship’, which gives the child an identity; a proof of existence, and later on the ability to exercise all other rights including civil and political rights.
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