and parentage, without which the child can face issues proving their entitlement to nationality. Free and prompt birth registration should be assured in law and practice even if the period within which the birth should have been declared has expired.45 38. In Germany, problematic birth registration practices lead to inconsistencies in recording key data and access to birth certificates, even though the law stipulates that children must be registered immediately. In the case of births in hospitals or other institutions (including detention centres) the institution is obliged to notify of the birth. The birth must be communicated to the local registry office (Standesamt) where the child was born within a week, either by the parent, any person who was present at or informed about the birth, and the relevant institutions. By law, a child can be registered if their parents' stay in the country is irregular. However, registry officials have a duty to report their presence to the authorities, which constitutes a barrier to registration.46 39. To register a birth, parents must submit certain documentation depending on their marital status. In cases where at least one parent cannot present the required documentation, practice varies as to whether only the mother or both parents are registered, and parents receive an extract from the birth register rather than a birth certificate, which contains the additional note ‘identity not established’.47 Although the extract is an official document, its value as a form of legal identification is disputed in practice, and this may pose barriers to accessing certain rights later in life, or to acquiring nationality (especially if the identity of the parents is unclear).48 If parents cannot present the documentation required, other evidence may be provided. If these are not easy to obtain, or if the actual facts relating to the persons concerned cannot be proven by public or other certificates, the law provides that the civil registrar can take a declaration on oath as ultimo ratio. However, due to the federal system, it is the competent registry office in each federal Land that needs to decide whether the conditions for a declaration on oath are met.49 According to a study on birth registration, although it is provided for in law, the declaration on oath is hardly applied, and if so, not necessarily accepted as an equal valid document, for instance by public health insurances.50 40. Upon entry into the birth register, reference is made to the nationality of the parents (if not German, nationality must be proven), marriage, birth certificates of parents, 45 European Parliament, Resolution on minimum standards for minorities in the EU (2018); UN Human Rights Council, The right to a nationality: women and children, Resolution A/HRC/RES/20/4 (2012); Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the CMW and No. 23 (2017) of the CRC on State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination, and return; and Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the CMW and No. 22 (2017) of the CRC on the general principles regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration; UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4 (2012); Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration; Global Compact on Refugees; Council of Europe: ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 16 on safeguarding irregularly present migrants from discrimination (2016); Council of Europe, Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)13 and explanatory memorandum of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the nationality of children (2009). 46 Art 68, Personenstandsgesetz vom 19. Februar 2007 (BGBl 2007 I, 122) [Civil Status Act]: https://www.gesetze-iminternet.de/pstg/BJNR012210007.html; Arts 8, 34 (2), 47 (1), 56, 57 Personenstandsverordnung (PStV) vom 22. November 2008 (BGBl 2008 I, 2263) [Regulation on Civil Status]: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pstv/BJNR226300008.html. 47 Arts 8, 34 (2)3, 47 (1), 35, 56, 57 Personenstandsverordnung (PStV) vom 22. November 2008 (BGBl 2008 I, 2263) [Regulation on Civil Status]: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pstv/BJNR226300008.html. 48 Andrea Koch, Victoria Lies (ed.), Geboren, registriert – und dann? Probleme bei der Geburtenregistrierung von Flüchtlingskindern in Deutschland und deren Folgen, Working Paper nr. 16, Humboldt Law Clinic Grund- und Menschenrechte, 2018: https://www.institut-fuermenschenrechte.de/fileadmin/Redaktion/PDF/Sonstiges/Humbold_Law_Clinic_Working_Paper_Probleme_bei_der_Geburtenr egistrierung.pdf. 49 Art 9 Personenstandsgesetz vom 19. Februar 2007 (BGBl 2007 I, 122) [Civil Status Act]: https://www.gesetze-iminternet.de/pstg/BJNR012210007.html. 50 Geburtsurkunden von Flüchtlingskindern [Birth certificates of refugee children] BT-Drucksache 18/9163 (13 July 2016). 10