Universal birth registration is a gateway right in the fulfilment of children’s rights. It ensures that children can access essential services, such as healthcare, education, and social protection, and protects them from exploitation, abuse, and statelessness. However, in many African countries, barriers like distance, costs, lack of awareness, and weak administrative systems prevent millions of children from being registered at birth.
How can civil society organise regionally to support efforts towards universal birth registration?
First, we must understand our spheres of influence as CSOs1 : the CSO Forum-EACRN2 and the CRNSA: Central & West Africa not so strong; North Africa is also missing.
-Apply for observer status with the relevant AU Treaty Monitoring Bodies (ACERWC & ACHPR). We have to establish working relationships with Special Mandate Holders e.g. Special Rapporteurs as well as Country Rapporteurs.
-Engage in AU events: CSOs can encourage special mandate holders to prioritize birth registration in their engagements with AU institutions and member states. This includes speaking at high-level AU meetings, summits, and forums such as the AU Summit or the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) sessions.
-Engage with national human rights institutions (NHRIs): NHRIs, being independent bodies that monitor government compliance with human rights obligations, are crucial allies. CSOs can collaborate with NHRIs to ensure that birth registration is prioritized as a fundamental right. Joint efforts can include data collection on unregistered children and holding governments accountable for failing to meet targets on universal registration.
Further, NHRIs can amplify civil society's voice in national and regional platforms, highlighting gaps and recommending policy changes.
-Advocate with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and AU organs: Beyond national borders, CSOs must engage with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as ECOWAS, SADC, ECCAS, and EAC3, advocating for birth registration as part of broader regional strategies for poverty eradication and human development.
These Regional platforms provide the opportunity for cross-border coordination, sharing of best practices, and addressing challenges such as migration and refugee status, where many children remain unregistered.
-Engage in regional Human Rights mechanisms: CSOs can work with relevant African Union organs—particularly the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) and the AU Commission’s Department of Social Affairs—on aligning birth registration initiatives with the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
-Highlight birth registration as a cross-cutting issue: Especially when working with the Commission (ACHPR), CSOs can push for birth registration to be recognized as a key element across various thematic mandates, such as the rights of children, women, refugees, and migrants. This broader approach ensures that birth registration is linked to other human rights concerns, making it harder for member states to overlook.
-Leverage AU mandate holders’ influence with Member States: AU special mandate holders, such as the Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons, can influence member states through policy recommendations. CSOs can work with these mandate holders to push for birth registration to be included in their recommendations to AU member states.
-Contribute to periodic reports: Many AU mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur on Birth Registration, submit periodic reports to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and other bodies. CSOs can collaborate and submit recommendations, ensuring birth registration is highlighted as a priority issue.
-Engage in dialogues with Member States: CSOs can encourage mandate holders to raise birth registration in their dialogues with member states during country visits or consultations. This direct engagement can lead to stronger commitments by governments to improve birth registration systems.
What should be our policy and action priorities regionally?
To achieve universal birth registration, policy priorities should include:
Strengthen legal frameworks: CSOs should advocate for legal reforms that make birth registration free, compulsory, and accessible to all, regardless of where a child is born or the status of their parents. Many countries still have outdated laws or practices that exclude vulnerable populations. Harmonizing these legal frameworks across the region will ensure no child is left behind. Examples of legal frameworks in need of reform include countries where women cannot transfer citizenship to their children and the case of Nubian children in Kenya.
Align with AU development frameworks: CSOs can work with mandate holders to align birth registration advocacy with key AU frameworks, such as Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA). These frameworks focus on inclusive development, and birth registration is crucial for ensuring that no one is left behind in Africa’s development journey.
Encourage harmonisation of birth registration systems across the region, leveraging technology for mobile and digital registration, and ensuring that these systems are accessible in rural and underserved communities.
Address barriers for marginalized groups: Vulnerable and marginalized communities, including children living in conflict zones, rural areas, or informal settlements, often face the greatest obstacles to registration. CSOs should advocate for targeted policies and programs that address the specific needs of these populations, ensuring birth registration is accessible to all children, regardless of their circumstances.
Long-Term Advocacy and Monitoring
With regards to accountability and monitoring mechanisms, CSOs can play a critical role in holding governments accountable for implementing birth registration commitments. This includes monitoring progress, reporting to regional human rights bodies, and ensuring that states meet their obligations under international and regional treaties, such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
In conclusion, civil society’s role is multifaceted. From influencing national legislation, engaging with NHRIs for accountability, to advocating regionally with RECs and AU organs (including special mandate holders) CSOs play a critical in ensuring that no child is left behind.
Universal birth registration is not just a legal requirement; it is a pathway to dignity and opportunity, a foundational step towards eradicating poverty and building inclusive societies.