Civil Registration Protecting Refugees and IDPs Preventing Statelessness

1. Civil RegistrationProtecting Refugees and IDPsPreventing Statelessness 7th Annual Symposia on Statistical Development (ASSD)Cape Town, South Africa18-20 January 2012 Andrew PainterSenior Policy OfficerRegional Bureau for AfricaUNHCR

2. Persons of Concern to UNHCR • Over the past years, civil conflicts in Africa have resulted in large-scale displacement, both within countries and across borders, with some refugees remaining outside their countries of origin for decades. • At the beginning of 2011, there were more than 10 million people of concern to UNHCR in Africa, including some 2.4 million refugees and 6.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). • Statelessness is often a hidden problem, with those affected living in the shadows. Growing recognition of the risk of statelessness in Africa, in particular for multi-generational migrant communities. • By working with governments and other organizations UNHCR seeks to guarantee protection and assistance to persons of concern, including the promotion of legal protection and the search for durable solutions.

3. Legal framework Every child has the right to be registered at birth, regardless of nationality or legal status: • African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Art 6) • Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 7) • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Art. 24(2)) Specific right of refugees and IDPs to identity documents, including birth certificates: • 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Art 27) • Kampala Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs in Africa (Art 13)

4. CIVIL REGISTRATION as a protection tool • Access to education, health services, employment. • Access to other identity documents • Protection for refugee/IDP children: • Child trafficking • Forced recruitment in armed groups • Unlawful child labour • Proof of family relationship to ensure family unity.

5. Civil registration and durable solutions • Voluntary repatriation: Civil registration facilitates return and reintegration in country of origin - issuance of national IDs upon return, proof of lineage, resolution of land disputes, facilitation of inheritance. • Resettlement: Lack of legal documentation as to birth and identity can cause problems in relation to resettlement, especially for parents who cannot prove that the child is their own. • Local Integration: Need for birth and other identity documents to naturalize or obtain another legal status.

6. Civil registration and prevention of statelessness • Protracted periods without civil documentation places persons at risk of becoming stateless. • Right to birth registration and right to acquire a nationality are distinct rights • Acquisition of nationality is regulated by relevant nationality laws • Birth registration does not determine nationality, it documents the event of a birth. • Birth registration, however, is important to establish one’s nationality under relevant nationality laws, indicating: • Parentage (relevant for jus sanguinis countries) • Place of birth (relevant for jus soli countries) • Or combination of both

7. Benefits to States of civil registration • Improves State administration of refugee/IDP camps. • Ensures more efficient delivery of services. • Facilitates law enforcement efforts to protect children from exploitation and abuse. • Establishes identity of refugees and displaced persons and relationship with others. • Prevents statelessness. • Avoids document fraud.

8. Issuance of birth certificates to refugees In 79 refugee camps in Africa, only 42% of newborns were issued a birth certificate in 2010. In numerous camps, no birth certificates were issued. WHY?

9. Barriers to birth registration / birth certificates • Absence of services: Absence of services in rural and camp areas. • Laws/policies: • Absence of laws that allow birth registration of, and/or issuance of birth certificates to, non-nationals. • Different treatment of refugees, within same country, based on nationality. • Automatic generation of national ID numbers with birth certificates. • Use of birth notifications instead of birth certificates. • Documentation requirements to demonstrate nationality of parents • Costs:Birth registration/birth certificates fees; travel costs. • Lack of awarenessof the importance of civil registration, especially with regard to future return. • Social and cultural barriers. • Fear: Fear to approach civil authorities if not yet recognized as refugees – possibility of detention and/or deportation.

10. Recommendations • Ensure documentation of key civil events for all persons on territory, including refugees and IDPs. • Guarantee universal and equal access to birth registration and birth certificates, regardless of nationality or legal status, under relevant laws and policies. • Facilitate access to civil registration at local level (mobile registration, integration birth registration w/ other public programmes) • Raise awareness at community level. • Enhance government capacities, especially at local level. • Promote cooperation (between State entities, w/ UN agencies, w/ community leaders).

11. THANK YOU