birth registration, adopted by consensus in March 2017, welcomed UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign, stressed States’ obligation to register all births in their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, including children born to migrants; non-nationals; asylum seekers; refugees and stateless persons, and explicitly linked the prevention of statelessness to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda’s goal to provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.22 The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (adopted in September 2016) also references important State commitments to reduce statelessness and register the births of all refugee children in their territory.23 2. Birth registration to prevent statelessness 2.1 Obstacles to birth registration Birth registration procedures can be complex and lengthy. They usually involve several steps, including a birth notification issued by hospitals (in most countries), the recording of the birth in the State’s civil registry, and the issuance of an official birth certificate. Completing these steps usually involves paying fees, which can be an obstacle for many, especially when higher fees or ‘fines’ are charged for late birth registration. Parents may also fail to register births simply because they lack awareness of its significance or do not understand the procedures. Many only realize the importance of registration when they enroll their children in school or try to access other State services. In order to register a child, some States require parents to provide their marriage certificate, their own birth certificates, and valid residence permits for both parents. The documentary requirements imposed by some countries can create insurmountable obstacles to birth registration. Parents with limited access to documentation may find it impossible to register a birth, further entrenching their documentation problems. In some countries, the lack of supporting documents results in incomplete information recorded on the birth certificate, which can make it difficult to establish nationality. UNHCR has partnered with a number of Governments to reduce barriers to registration for refugees. In Lebanon, the Government now accepts the Syrian Family Booklet as proof of parental identity and marital status to register births. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, civil registries now recognize refugee cards as official ID documents for the purpose of birth registration. (For more information, see Section 4.) Physical access to civil registration services can be problematic in remote areas where distance and transportation costs are prohibitive, or where freedom of movement is limited, for example in refugee and IDP camps. Jordan provides an example of how this can be overcome (see Section 4). In other cases, language barriers and illiteracy may hinder people from approaching civil registration authorities or understanding how to complete the necessary procedures. Discriminatory laws and practices also affect birth registration. People may be prevented from registering births on grounds of gender, ethnicity, race, religion, or for other reasons. In some countries, law or practice requires both the father and mother to be present to register a birth; in others only the most senior male in a household may do so. This increases the risk that children will not be registered if they are born out of wedlock, or born to fathers who are absent, unknown, deceased, stateless themselves, or unwilling to complete the relevant administrative process.24 Where this is the case, mothers may be reluctant to approach the authorities because births out of wedlock are stigmatized. Regulations and practices that discriminate on grounds of gender can prevent registration and may lead to statelessness. 22 HRC, Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the law: resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council, 24 March 2017, A/HRC/RES/34/L14, at: http://goo.gl/2b6TYA. 23 UN General Assembly, New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, October 2016, A/RES/71/1, Articles 32, 71 and 72, and Annex 1, Article 5(f), at: http://goo.gl/BjoSZ9. 24 OHCHR, Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the law, A/HRC/27/22, June 2014, para. 69f, at http://goo.gl/P3dWpy. 5 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS