Access to civil documentation Recommendations In line with recommendations issued in May 2020,14 UNHCR urges governments to undertake the following actions: Birth and death registration services should be considered an ‘essential service’ and should continue to operate, with temporary modifications in operational arrangements as necessary and appropriate. Authorities are encouraged to digitize civil registration services to the extent that this transition does not disadvantage those without access to internet. The pandemic offers an opportunity to improve the technological infrastructure of civil registration services to enhance accessibility even after the crisis. Authorities are encouraged to implement procedures for late birth registration, extend existing deadlines, and suspend penalties and fees. These provisions should continue for a period after COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in order for backlogs to be rapidly cleared. Additional evidentiary requirements in case of late birth registration should be avoided. The validity of nationality and residency documentation should be extended for the duration of the suspension of services. Authorities are also encouraged to extend the validity of these documents for a reasonable period of time after registration services have restarted to allow persons to renew their documents before they become invalid. In addition, authorities are encouraged to develop and implement plans to efficiently deal with backlogs. To this end, authorities are encouraged to consider hiring staffing on a temporary basis and redirecting funds to this area. 10 THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON STATELESS POPULATIONS