Background

1. Draft Guidelines on the Legislative Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management Srdjan Mrkić United Nations Statistics Division

2. Background • Since 1948 the United Nations Statistics Division (United Nations Statistical Office at the time) has been mandated with providing methodological framework and international recommendations for civil registration and vital statistics • Mandate based on the still-in-place model that comprehensive, reliable, regular, accurate and small area vital statistics can be derived only from a fully-functioning registration of all vital events occurring in the country • Mandate was further extended by adoption of the International Programme for Accelerating the Improvement of Vital Statistics and Civil Registration Systems by United Nations Statistical Commission and Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) in 1991 and re-iterated in 1995

3. Principles and Recommendations • The third revision – 2014 • In the context of defining a system as a set of interacting or independent components forming an integrated whole and for the purposes for which these principles and recommendations are to be applied, the components of a vital statistics system are: (a) legal registration, (b) statistical reporting of, and (c) collection, compilation and dissemination of statistics pertaining to vital events • Focus on holistic civil registration and vital statistics system, back to 1953

4. Live births Health services Certification of cause of death Complementary/ Interim sources Population census Surveys Sample registration areas Deaths Civil Registration, including population registers Principles: • Compulsory • Universal • Continuous • Confidentiality Fetal deaths Vital Statistics Compilation Processing Validation Quality control Dissemination Authorized institutions Marriages Divorces Additional administrative sources Coronary Police Registries Health records Annulments Judicial separations Courts Judicial institutions Adoptions Legitimation National IDs’ Electoral lists Passports … Recognition 2014 Principles and Recommendations – Model in a Graph

6. United Nations Methodological Framework Principles and Recommendations, Revision 2 (2001) Principles and Recommendations, Revision 3 (2015) Handbook on CRVS: Management, Operation and Maintenance (1998) Handbook on CRVS: Management, Operation and Maintenance, Rev 1 (2018) Handbook on CRVS: Computerization (1998)

7. United Nations Methodological Framework Handbook on Training in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems (2002) CRVS E-learning Course (2017) Handbook on Developing Information, Operation and Maintenance (1998) Under revision, expected release date mid-2019 Annotated outline adopted, under revision, expected release date early 2019 Handbook on Legal Framework(1998)

8. Focus of Legislative Framework • The current version – Handbook on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems: Preparation of a Legal Framework • Published in 1998 • Still relevant – a model Civil Registration Law is part of it • In need of updates, primarily based on • The contemporary model for civil registration, vital statistics and identity management • Legal framework for population registers • Confidentiality and privacy concerns and concepts • Contemporary technology • Evolution of international law and human rights

9. Focus of Legislative Framework • UNSD developed (in 2017) an annotated outline of a revised set of guidelines on the legislative framework • Presented at the Technical Seminar on Legal Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management Systems, held in Manila, the Philippines, July 2017 • The Seminar provided comments, suggestions and national experiences • Conclusions and recommendations pointed to the importance of introducing a unique identification number and the necessary legislative framework for universal, safe and confidential implementation • Strongly underscored the need for a legislative framework to follow the holistic approach and interoperable model for civil, registration, vital statistics and identity management • Legal aspects of the ownership of individual information • Emphasized that birth registration, and its legal tender - the birth certificate - is the foundation of legal identity

10. Focus of Legislative Framework • Based on the annotated outline and the conclusions and recommendations, the draft Guidelines consist of six chapters • Introduction • Overview of civil registration, vital statistics and identity management • Concepts and definitions • Principles of civil registration and identity management • Functions • Vital events • Identity Management • Interoperability • Accountability and governance

11. Focus of Legislative Framework • Based on the annotated outline and the conclusions and recommendations, the draft Guidelines consist of six chapters • Human rights and civil registration, vital statistics and identity management • Rights-based approach to legal frameworks • Right to register vital events • Human rights that depend on the registration of vital events • Protection of vulnerable populations • Institutional arrangements • Centralized and decentralized systems • Single versus multiple lead agencies • Ministry versus autonomous agency • Power to issue regulations and delegation of authority • Role of health sector • Role of police, coroner and emergency services • Role of custodians of funeral, burial and cremation facilities • Role of the courts • Inter-agency cooperation • Financial resources

12. Focus of Legislative Framework • Based on the annotated outline and the conclusions and recommendations, the draft Guidelines consist of six chapters • Legislative framework • General provisions • General provisions • Civil registration, vital statistics and identity management • Civil registration • Registration of births • Registration of fetal deaths • Registration of deaths • Registration of marriage • Registration of dissolution of marriage or civil union • Corrections and amendments • Transferring records • Fees • Identity management • Identity management principles and life cycle • Fees

13. Focus of Legislative Framework • Based on the annotated outline and the conclusions and recommendations, the draft Guidelines consist of six chapters • Legislative framework (continued) • Population register • Information to be submitted to the population register • Transmission procedures • Transmission frequency • Data protection and privacy during transmission • Vital statistics • Vital statistics derived from civil registration • Submission of statistical information • Compilation of vital statistics • Publication and dissemination of vital statistics reports • Data protection, privacy and security • Collection and updating: Collection limitation, data quality and purpose specification • Access and use: Purpose, limitation and security safeguards • Protection of individual rights

14. Focus of Legislative Framework • Based on the annotated outline and the conclusions and recommendations, the draft Guidelines consist of six chapters • Legislative framework (continued) • Compliance, enforcement, rights and remedies • Monitoring and inspection • Administrative and judicial review • Offences and penalties • Revenue to fund the system • Other laws and policies that support civil registration, vital statistics and identity management systems • Incentives for institutional compliance • Creating individual demand for identity credentials • Creating individual demand for civil registration • Improving cause of death information • Facilitating use of technology

15. EGM – expected outcome • General comments on the draft Guidelines: are there issues that are missing, yet are critical for the legal framework? Is there unnecessary elaboration of topics that should not be covered? Is the general approach to the Guidelines appropriate and adequate? Should there be more discussion on a specific issue? • Specific comments. As mentioned above, the meeting will review the draft Guidelines para by para. Looking for specific comments on each para, section, or chapter - prepared in writing in advance of the meeting and introduced at the meeting itself; presented orally at the meeting and reflected in the final version of the draft; or as general notes transformed into specific comments based on the discussion at the meeting

16. EGM – expected outcome • National examples. The Guidelines aspire to cover as much as possible national successful practices in developing and implementing legal framework for the holistic approach to civil registration, vital statistics and identity management. Examples in that respect from your countries and regional or international settings are invaluable. Thus, please identify parts of the Guidelines that are most suitable for inclusion of successful practice in your countries and provide them in the format of the text box, annex, illustration or in any other shape you feel is appropriate and these will be then included in the final version.

17. EGM follow-up • Finalizing the draft – depending on the volume of comments, suggestions and inputs – preferably by mid-February 2019 • Circulated to EGM members for final review – mid-March 2019 • Final draft produced – end of March 2019 • Unedited final draft posted at the UN website – end of March 2019 • Editing, copy preparation, printing – May 2019