With regard to Action 6, on 9 November, the
authorities in Kosovo1 granted statelessness status to
the first four applicants to go through the Statelessness
Determination Procedure, thereby granting them
access to residency rights and basic services. After
completing the five-year residency period, they will
be eligible to apply for facilitated naturalization in
accordance with the Law on Citizenship.
In line with Action 7, UNHCR provided support to a
number of governments in issuing birth certificates
to populations at risk of statelessness. From 21
November to 2 December, the Government of the
Republic of Congo, with support from UNHCR,
organized a campaign to issue birth certificates to
indigenous populations in the departments of La
Lekoumou, Kouilou and Sangha. The campaign
involved mobile court hearings that resulted in 2,000
indigenous people receiving birth certificates.
In line with Action 7, Ensure birth registration for
the prevention of statelessness, the Ministry of
Interior and Decentralization of Madagascar and
Focus Development Association organized an
awareness campaign on birth registration from
September to December. Videos were screened and
broadcast text messages sent to communities in
pre-identified areas to encourage birth registration
and thereby reduce the risk of statelessness.
In Sudan, the civil registry and UNHCR continued
birth registration campaigns in Darfur, Kordofan and
White Nile states that contributed to up to 15,000
children having their births registered in the last
quarter of 2020. The campaigns targeted refugees,
IDPs and host communities and involved late birth
registration as well as cases of children born out of
wedlock and foundlings.
Also on Action 7, in the Republic of Congo, UNHCR
and local authorities organized an awareness raising
campaign on birth registration from 1 November
to 31 December in the departments of Brazzaville,
Plateaux and Likouala. Community relays were
trained and deployed to raise awareness among
households on the need to register births in order to
reduce the risk of statelessness.
In Tanzania, a campaign by the authorities and
UNHCR to clear birth registration backlogs among
refugee children born in Kigoma resulted in the
issuance of 13,537 birth certificates. In Yemen,
UNHCR, in close collaboration with civil registration
authorities, continued to provide legal assistance
to displaced families to ensure birth registration,
facilitating the issuance of 305 birth certificates
to refugee/asylum seeker children and 4,969
birth certificates to IDP children. In Egypt, UNHCR
supported the birth registration of 215 children through
the provision of legal aid.
Also in line with Action 7, on 13 November, the
Republic of Congo published Ministerial Order n°
14888 to establish auxiliary civil status centres in
health facilities to limit the risks of non-registration of
children when they leave the hospital.
Also in line with Action 7, the Government of
Montenegro has started implementing a new birth
registration practice which involves the immediate
birth registration of children abandoned by their
mothers, or whose mothers are missing identification
documents. The new birth registration practice is in
line with the Government of Montenegro’s pledge
at the High-Level Segment on Statelessness to
strengthen collaboration between the Ministry
of Labour and Social Welfare and the Ministry of
Interior to conduct immediate birth registration of
children. Although the number of children facing
Further on Action 7, on 1 November, a new law “on
Civil Acts” entered into force in the Kyrgyz Republic
which ensures the right to register the fact of the
birth of a child and for the child to be issued with a
proof of birth regardless of the parents’ possession
of documents. This will allow a child to access
medical care and social benefits. In accordance with
the new legal provisions, actual birth certificates
can only be issued after at least one parent is
documented.
1
All References to Kosovo in this document shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).
8