Civil Registration System

1. Civil Registration System United Nations Expert Group Meeting on International Standards for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems 27-30 June 2011, New York, USA Genene Bizuneh African Development Bank and African Centre for Statistics, UNECA

2. Outline A. Background B. Review of the Current Principles and Recommendations in Reference to Civil Registration System C. Experience and Lessons Learnt from the African Region D. Way Forward

3. Versions of principles and recommendations • 1953 Principles • Principles and recommendations only – 28 pages size • Operational guidelines followed – in 1955 (though not primarily meant to serve as implementation guideline for the principles) • Civil registration taken as the sole data source for vital statistics • No complementary or interim methods considered • No principles and recommendations for civil registration • No operational guidelines for civil registration

4. Versions of principles and recommendations … Cont’d • 1973 version – first revision • Principles, recommendations and guidelines for vital statistics in one volume • Difficult to identify the principles and recommendations from the guidelines • Additional guidelines on vital statistics in separate volumes followed • Civil registration considered as the primary and preferred source for vital statistics • Complementary and interim methods considered • No principles, recommendations and guidelines for civil registration

5. Versions of principles and recommendations … Cont’d • 2001 version – 2nd revision • Principles, recommendations and guidelines for vital statistics in one volume • Difficult to identify the principles and recommendations from the guidelines • Guidelines on civil registration and vital statistics in series of volumes followed • Civil registration considered as the primary and preferred source for vital statistics • Complementary and interim methods considered • No principles and recommendations for civil registration

6. Versions of principles and recommendations … Cont’d Versions of principles and recommendations … Cont’d • Concluding points:- • Difficult to isolate principles and recommendations from guidelines (after 1953) • Civil registration systems not supported with international principles and recommendations • There are no full-fledged international operational guidelines for civil registration systems • No regional operational guidelines for the implementation of the international principles and recommendations 

7. Review of the Current P&R in Reference to Civil Registration System • General: • Censuses and surveys follow enumeration method and civil registration – registration method – the P&R confuses registration and administrative methods – vital statistics is considered as by-product of an administrative process • Enumeration and administrative methods do not fulfill vital statistics principles: universal coverage, continuity, confidentiality and regular dissemination – not properly appraised in the P&R • Delineation of responsibilities not properly addressed in the P&R • Collection and forwarding of vital statistics records – under the jurisdiction of legal function and • Analysis and dissemination – under the statistics function • Role of statistics in the legal function not properly addressed

8. Review of the Current P&R in … Cont’d • Definitions of recommended vital events • Definitions given largely from statistics perspective • Need for a harmonized concept and definition – considering legal, administrative and statistics perspectives • “Service provision” not properly addressed in the definition of civil registration

9. Review of the Current P&R in … Cont’d • Characteristics of civil registration method • Civil registration method – if a statistical concept, how does non-statisticians (registrars) understand it? • Civil registration method = a technique for accomplishing legal, administrative and statistical functions of CRVS systems – not properly addressed in the P&R • Para. starting 323 are outside the characteristics of civil registration method

10. Review of the Current P&R in … Cont’d • Other Issues • P&R do not show civil registration institutional and infrastructural integration and interface with other public organs – assumes establishing standalone civil registration offices in every local minor division (starting para. 353) • Suggests different scales of payments for registration of vital events (para 393) – however irrespective of the time period registration should be free • Civil registration and vital statistics operational modalities in federal government systems not addressed sufficiently

11. Experience and lessons learnt from the African region • Need to develop international Principles and Recommendations for civil registration • Regional UN commissions to prepare regional operational guidelines and manuals for civil registration and vital statistics • Causes of death recording and processing need to be comprehensively addressed in the P&R • Role of international and regional stakeholders in supporting the implementation of the P&R need to be defined, specifically UN regional commissions

12. Experience and lessons learnt from the African region … Cont’d • Misconception in most national statistics offices of considering vital statistics as a by-product of civil registration system need to change; • Role of national statistics in improving civil registration need to be defined; • National statistics offices should orient their plans and activities towards long-term and sustainable vital statistics data source (need for an exit strategy)

13. Way Forward • Principles/ recommandations and guidelines need to be separated • Complementary and interim vital statistics data sources need to be annexes • A country working on improving its CRVS systems should abort all complementary and interim vital statistics data sources except including fertility and mortality questions in census and inter-censal sample surveys (refer chapter 6) • Revision of principles and recommendations on vital statistics need to be a joint responsibility of civil registration and vital statistics experts. • Preparation of principles and recommendations on civil registration need to be led jointly by civil registration and vital statistics experts

14. Thank you