Birth Registration and Consular Assistance in Egypt and Morocco 27 4. Information and assistance for migrants and refugees UN agencies (especially UNHCR, IOM and UNICEF) should make it a priority to provide support and outreach to irregular migrant and refugee communities for birth registration and identity documents, including information and training in relevant languages, and financing for legal and paralegal assistance. 5. Information, training and resources for civil registration and consular officials Civil registration officials need training to facilitate birth registration by migrants and refugees and to emphasise to parents the importance of registration with consular authorities. Consular officials need training on the procedures in the country where they are assigned, and support to provide that information in turn to their nationals present in the country. Both civil registration and consular authorities will need additional resources if they are to reach the most vulnerable groups. 6. Guidance on access to nationality and identity documents for the children of refugees A refugee status determination procedure will in principle ensure that adult refugees are issued identity documents. Children are usually included within the documentation of one of their parents. However, this registration does not protect the future nationality rights of the child, if nationality of the country of birth cannot be acquired. The children of refugees cannot be registered with the consulates of the country of origin of their parents, even though this may be necessary under the law for the child to acquire the parent’s nationality. 7. Guidance on inter-country recognition of civil status documents More research is needed (especially outside the European context) on the immense complexity of the interaction of different civil registration systems under private international law and guidance on common standards for the recognition of civil status documents. The African Union and the Arab League would be well-placed to take steps in this direction. 8. Guidance on the obligations of consular authorities The operation of consular assistance remains a virtual ‘black box’, almost impossible to penetrate. International law considers consular assistance to be a prerogative of the state, not a right of the person seeking help. There is a lack even of ‘soft law’ standards on the assistance people should expect from the consular representatives of their country of nationality or origin—whatever their legal status in the country of residence and whether or not they have documents from their home country.