EC/61/SC/CRP.5 Page 2 4. Failure to register a child immediately after birth can in principle be addressed through late registration procedures. This can be more costly, however, and may in some instances prove very difficult or impossible due to factors such as conflict, natural disaster, migration and the separation of families. 5. UNHCR baseline data from early 2009 revealed that the level of birth registration among persons of concern is unacceptably low: Only 46 per cent of newborns in 103 refugee camps and 49 per cent of newborns in 94 urban areas were issued birth certificates. This data is complemented by the global statistics provided by UNICEF, which show that only 50 per cent of children under five in developing countries are registered. 3 UNHCR has therefore made the attribution of individual and civil documentation one of its Global Strategic Priorities 4 , and has set targets to raise the registration rate and issuance of birth certificates, beginning with populations of concern and children who are at risk of becoming stateless due to birth registration deficits. 6. Ensuring birth registration remains a challenge that needs to be addressed through concerted action by multiple actors, with States playing a key role. The guidance of the Executive Committee in the form of a Conclusion on birth registration, is therefore both timely and necessary. A Conclusion would draw on existing international legal standards and provide detailed guidance on how to apply them in the operational context. In doing so, it would take account of the growing body of good practice of States, United Nations agencies and civil society, in the area of birth registration, and also the diversity of approaches taken by States with regard to civil registration more generally. Below is an outline of some of the areas such a Conclusion could usefully address. A more detailed outline of the Conclusion could be provided in due course. 7. UNHCR would therefore welcome suggestions for issues that might be included in a Conclusion on birth registration, in particular related to the following areas: (a) Laws and policies on birth registration that ensure timely and compulsory birth registration for all children within the national territory, including those born on ships flying the flag of the State and on planes registered in the country in question; (b) Non-discrimination, ensuring equal access to birth registration for all persons of concern to UNHCR, regardless of such factors as nationality, immigration status or marital status of the parents; (c) Accessibility of birth registration, in particular through (i) developing policies that take into account barriers to registration such as displacement, conflict, natural disasters, poverty and discrimination, (ii) putting in place systems that make birth registration accessible at the local level, including mobile birth registration to address existing deficits, (iii) integrating birth registration with other public programmes such as those relating to childbirth, maternal-infant care, immunization and education, (iv) waiving registration fees, and (v) facilitating the registration of children born to nationals abroad; 3 UNICEF, State of the World’s Children Special Edition: Celebrating 20 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Table 9. 4 UNHCR, Global Strategic Priority 2.5, Global Appeal 2010-2011.