Birth registration

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled against the Dominican Republic for racial discrimination in access to nationality.

Children who are not registered at birth are ‘invisible’ in official records and therefore more vulnerable to discrimination.

Unregistered children may include: children born out of wedlock, refugee children, children whose parents cannot afford birth registration fees or who are themselves unregistered.

Birth registration is essential for accessing other rights on an equal basis with others. For example, many countries require children to present their birth certificate to enrol in the education system.

More information

• Briefing on discrimination and statelessness (authored by Sebastian Kohn for CRIN)
  
• Differential treatment based on birth is prohibited in the Draft General Comment on Non-Discrimination of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, p. 9, para 23