The IFSW Human Rights Commission has submitted a response to the UN Office of Human Rights Council request for information about birth registration. There has been a long history of campaigning for recognition of the current estimated 55 million people who do not have an official identity through birth registration. Members will remember the key role that Ellen Mouravieff- Apostol has played in raising awareness within our own federation.
Lack of official documentation presents problems for people accessing key basic services and deprives them of a status within the communities in which they live. In discussing the issues with practitioners it often leads onto debate about others who can be described as undocumented people, particularly when involved in migration or who have been trafficked. The IFSW Human Rights Commission has used the opportunity of the request for information from the UNHRC to highlight some of the issues we as social workers come across in practice, asking them to reflect on how the resources are currently deployed in enabling recognition of people as our fellow citizens.
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Download the IFSW Statement to the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Birth Registration