can fall dramatically during periods of conflict: in Côte d’Ivoire, the birth registration rate decreased from 72 per cent in 2000 to 55 per cent in 2006.85 Lack of birth registration, especially for children in border areas, children of refugees, abandoned children etc, is regularly criticised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its concluding observations on state reports submitted under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee highlights the fact that lack of birth registration may, especially in the francophone countries, prevent a child from being admitted to school or entering exams to pass from one level to another; as well as from obtaining national identity documents on reaching majority.86 There have been significant recent efforts at reform of civil registration systems. A West and Central Africa regional campaign to improve birth registration was launched in June 2003 by 24 national governments in partnership with several international organisations.87 A number of countries in West Africa have adopted new legislative frameworks which decentralise civil registration processes, making them more accessible, including in relation to late registration based on the testimony of witnesses.88 With the support of UNICEF and international NGOs such as Plan International and Save the Children, there is a major push to improve registration rates, through measures such as support to mobile registration drives or the creation of village committees charged with ensuring that all births are registered; in some countries pilot projects supported by mobile phone companies have been launched for declaration of births by SMS. Fees for registration and late registration have been reduced, or removed altogether.89 In Guinea, for example, the rate of birth registration has improved from 46 percent to 59 percent in just a few years, a relatively good rate for a country at its level of income per capita. However, at least a quarter of registered children do not have a birth certificate (extrait de naissance), which is almost equivalent to not being registered at all, given problems with archiving of records and administration of the system. The 2008 Code de l’enfant increased the period for normal registration without the need for a jugement supplétif from 15/30 days to 6/8 months (in urban or rural areas). In addition, late registration of birth through a jugement suppletif is obtainable from any tribunal (including the lowest level, the tribunal de paix); though in practice is rarely obtained. Unlike in Senegal and Niger, there are no audiences foraines away from the usual court seat for late birth registration, although the civil code does allow for that possibility. Birth registration has been decentralised to each sousprefecture, and this lack of central control has given rise to a system in which efficiency of registration varies greatly by district. Registration rates in remote regions are still very low, and registration often restricted to births assisted by a hospital or clinic (and even then there is a frequent misunderstanding of the difference between the attestation de naissance signed by the health centre and actual birth 85 « Rapport conjoint de l’équipe pays Côte D’ivoire pour l’Examen Periodique Universel (EPU) », United Nations, 2009. 86 Concluding observations of the CRC are available at the “human rights bodies” link at the webpage of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/Pages/HumanRightsBodies.aspx, last accessed 2 July 2014. 87 Birth Registration and Armed Conflict, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2007. 88 For example, Loi n°2007-30 portant régime de l’état civil au Niger ; Loi. 2009-010 du 11 juin 2009 relative à l'organisation de l'état civil au Togo. 89 Interviews and other information from UNICEF West Africa offices. 33