A child's passport to protection

IN Kuala Lumpur, young Mahendravalli grew up without a birth certificate or identity card. Her parents didn’t know or understand the importance of birth registration. So they did not register her birth.

Without a birth certificate, Mahendravalli was unable to attend school. Later, she was unable to get a job. Later still, she got married, but it was only a customary marriage, because she was unable to register her marriage. Without a birth certificate or identity card, she was unable to get a marriage certificate.

Eventually, and only quite recently, thanks to the efforts of a non-governmental organisation which worked closely with the government, Mahendravalli finally obtained her birth certificate.

What Mahendravalli’s parents didn’t understand was that from the moment she was born, she had rights, including the right to an identity. But birth registration is more than just a right. It is the child’s passport to protection – a way to ensure that no child is excluded from vital services like education, healthcare and social security.

Unicef’s latest report on birth registration, Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and Trends in Birth Registration, states that nearly 230 million children under five have never been registered. The rates vary significantly across regions, with the lowest levels of birth registration found in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2012 alone, four out of 10 babies born worldwide were not registered.

An even larger number of children might have been registered but have not been issued an official birth certificate, a necessary step to prove that registration took place.

Malaysia has a relatively high registration rate compared to other countries in the region. A largely decentralised birth registration system and government initiatives such as MyDaftar and mobile registration units have been implemented to increase birth registration.

Despite these initiatives, there are still children from marginalised populations such as indigenous groups, certain ethnic groups, migrant communities, particularly undocumented migrants as well as orphaned and abandoned children who are not registered at birth.

Some of these communities live in fringe and interior areas, making access to registration offices difficult and expensive. A lack of understanding of the processes involved, compounded by a low literacy rate, makes it particularly challenging for parents from these communities to register their children.

The lack or loss of a formal identity is one of the most significant reasons why a child becomes “invisible” or excluded. Without birth registration, children do not go to school, and do not have access to health or social services.

Without a birth certificate, it is also difficult to determine a child’s nationality. If they are separated from their families during a natural disaster, or if they are exposed to forms of exploitation such as trafficking, reuniting children with their real parents becomes even more complicated, because without registration there is no official proof of the links to their families.

Later in life, it is also often impossible to apply for a job, get a passport, vote, or open a bank account, as was the case for Mahendravalli.

Unicef calls on the Government of Malaysia, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to step up collaborative efforts to achieve universal birth registration for all children. This is a first step in making sure children have the best start in life.

Some of our key recommendations to achieve universal birth registration for all children born in Malaysia are:

> Enhance delivery of birth registration services, especially targeting rural and marginalised communities

> Streamline and simplify late birth registration procedures and requirements

> Raise awareness on the importance of birth registration, and

> Conduct an in-depth assessment of children living in residential homes who are without birth registration.

> On Dec 11, Unicef celebrated its 67th anniversary with a dedicated focus on birth registration, addressing a persistent global problem, as its anniversary theme. Unicef’s latest report on birth registration, “Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and Trends in Birth Registration” can be downloaded via www.unicef.my

The writer is a child protection specialist at Unicef Malaysia.