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 privacy policy

A ticket to citizenship

In the last two years, Plan's UBR campaign has helped register over 5 million children and adults.
In the last two years, Plan's UBR campaign has helped register over 5 million children and adults.
Why is birth registration so important?
Birth registration means proof of identity. It is essential to a child’s place in the world.

Without this proof of birth, a child could lose out on her basic rights before the law as well as to education, health care, and social services. She can be more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and can be denied her rights to a family and income.

Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states: “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.”

Plan believes birth registration should be compulsory, timely and without discrimination for all children. The process should also be free and accessible to all parents.

What comes next?
Plan’s global campaign for universal birth registration is providing the momentum and opportunity for governments across the world to renew their commitment to Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to intensify their efforts to ensure they have systems in place for the registration of all children at birth.

The campaign is proving hugely successful, both in influencing national policy on birth registration and ensuring real change on the ground. This success is due to Plan’s ability to complement advocacy locally and nationally with action regionally and internationally. Yet, many challenges remain.

To begin with, setting international guidelines for achieving universal birth registration would ensure coordination of effort for maximum impact. Guidelines would also create the political commitment needed for signatory states to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to implement Article 7 at the earliest opportunity.

For all children to access their rights by being registered at birth we need the continued cooperation of all partners. Plan looks forward to working with all relevant parties as we enter the next phase of the campaign.

Remember, a birth certificate is a child’s ticket to citizenship.