2.7.3 Children without civil documentation

2.7.3 Children without civil documentation

Practical obstacles to birth registration, particularly in areas with underdeveloped administrative systems or affected by armed conflict, have resulted in an estimated 45 000 children lacking civil documentation, subsequently excluding them from rights and services.874 Some hospitals allowed women to give birth in their facilities but did not automatically issue birth certificates for the children when the identity documents of both parents were not submitted.875 Children without birth certificates are at a risk of statelessness.876 Moreover, they cannot obtain other civil documentation and face difficulties when enrolling to school, or when accessing services and are at a bigger risk of child labour.877 Children can be denied access to healthcare and vaccinations if they are not able to produce civil documentation, including the ID and marriage certificate of the mother.878

Among particularly affected children due to lack of documentation are displaced children, children perceived as associated with ISIL,879 and children born from unregistered marriages.880 For children born out of ISIL sexual violence, obtaining civil documentation is ‘exceptionally difficult’.881 In such cases, women may not know the father’s identity or may not want to disclose it, which can as a result in the children becoming stateless.882 See also Children with perceived affiliation to ISIL.