Birth Registration and the Right of Everyone to Recognition Everywhere as a Person Before the Law

A/HRC/RES/34/15No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

7 versions · 2012–2026

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/61/24

2026A/HRC/RES/61/24Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the lawLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/52/25Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the lawCompare with previous version
2020A/HRC/RES/43/5Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the lawCompare with previous version
2017A/HRC/RES/34/15Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the lawCompare with previous version
2015A/HRC/RES/28/13Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the lawCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 topics

Anti-Discrimination Measures Birth Reporting Civil Registration Coordination Within UN System Crime Prevention Data Protection Equality Before the Law Human Rights Identification Cards Legal Status Principles Report Preparation Socially Disadvantaged Children

What does this mandate say?

20 operative paragraphs

Expresses deep concern at the fact that, , despite ongoing efforts to increase the global rate of birth registration, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund nearly one quarter of births of the global population of children under 5 have never been registered;

Reminds States of their obligation to register all births without discrimination of any kind, and also reminds States that birth registration should take place immediately after birth, in the country where children are born, including the children of migrants, non-nationals, asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons, in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments, and that late birth registration should be limited to those cases that would otherwise result in a lack of registration;

Reaffirms that the provision of legal identity for all, including birth registration by 2030, can contribute to prevent, inter alia, marginalization, exclusion, discrimination, violence, statelessness, abduction, sale, exploitation and abuse, including when it takes the form of child labour, human trafficking, child, early and forced marriage, and unlawful child recruitment;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on strengthening policies and programmes for universal birth registration and vital statistics development,1 which refers to the international legal framework related to birth registration, the progress and challenges towards the universality of this right, and existing policies and programmes aimed at universal birth registration and vital statistics development;

Calls upon States to establish or strengthen existing institutions at all levels responsible for birth registration and to consider the development of comprehensive civil registration systems, and the preservation and security of such records, to ensure adequate training for registration officers, to allocate sufficient and adequate human, technical and financial resources to fulfil their mandate, and to increase, as needed, the accessibility of birth registration facilities within its territory and, in accordance with relevant international law, abroad, either by increasing the number or through other means, such as mobile birth registration officials in rural areas, paying attention to the local community level, promoting community awareness and working to address the barriers faced by vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities, in their access to birth registration;

Also calls upon States to take all appropriate measures to permanently store and protect civil registration records and to prevent the loss or destruction of records, inter alia, due to emergency or armed conflict situations, including through the use of digital and new technologies as means to facilitate and universalize access to birth registration, and also to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics, which are key for the collection of disaggregated data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals;

Further calls upon States to assess the potential risk to privacy and to take steps to protect individuals from discrimination and harm when determining the information included in a birth certificate, particularly details concerning origin, race, ethnicity, religion and parents’ marital status, and to consider reflecting on birth certificates only minimum information, such as the child’s name, gender, date and place of birth, and when available, parents’ names, citizenship and addresses;

Calls upon States to protect personal information obtained through birth registration or other civil registration processes that may be used to discriminate against an individual;

Also calls upon States to ensure free birth registration, including free or low-fee late birth registration, by means of universal, accessible, simple, expeditious and effective registration procedures, without discrimination of any kind;

Further calls upon States to raise awareness of birth registration continuously at the national, regional and local levels, including by engagement in collaboration with all relevant actors, such as national human rights institutions, the public and private sectors and civil society organizations, in public campaigns that raise awareness of the importance of birth registration for effective access to services and the enjoyment of human rights;

Calls upon States to ensure that lack of birth registration or documents of proof of birth does not constitute an obstacle to access to and the enjoyment of relevant national services and programmes, in accordance with national and international human rights law;

Urges States to identify and remove physical, administrative, procedural and any other barriers that impede access to birth registration, including late registration, paying due attention to, among others, those barriers relating to poverty, disability, gender, age, adoption processes, nationality, statelessness, displacement, illiteracy and detention contexts, and to persons in vulnerable situations;

Invites States and other relevant stakeholders to work towards ensuring universal birth registration through, inter alia, the exchange of good practices and technical assistance, including through the universal periodic review and other relevant mechanisms of the Human Rights Council;

Encourages States to request technical assistance, if required, from relevant United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes and other relevant stakeholders in order to fulfil their obligation to undertake birth registration as a means of respecting the right of everyone to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law;

Takes note of the Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development, which aim to strengthen identification systems and to foster cooperation around the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and invites States and other actors to consider endorsing them;

Invites relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and other relevant stakeholders to cooperate with States in providing technical assistance, upon request, and calls upon them to ensure that persons with no birth registration are not discriminated against in any of their programmes;

Recognizes the importance of international cooperation in supporting national efforts to ensure universal birth registration, including the exchange of good practices and technical assistance;

Requests the High Commissioner to identify and actively pursue opportunities to collaborate with the United Nations Statistics Division and other relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as well as other relevant stakeholders, in order to strengthen existing policies and programmes aimed at universal birth registration and vital statistics development, and to ensure that they are based on international standards, taking into account best practices, and are implemented in accordance with relevant international human rights obligations;

Also requests the High Commissioner to prepare, in consultation with States, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, a report on best practices and specific measures to ensure access to birth registration, particularly for those children most at risk, marginalized and living in situations of conflict, poverty, emergency and vulnerability, including children belonging to minority groups, children with disabilities, indigenous children, and children of migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons, taking into account the commitment to implement target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session;

Decides to consider this issue in accordance with its annual programme of work.

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