UNICEF calls for five actions to protect all children, starting from birth 1. Provide every child with a certificate upon birth All children should be registered at birth – regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion and/or status – through universal, accessible systems. Laws and policies must be reviewed and revised to ensure that every child subsequently receives and can use his or her birth certificate. UNICEF calls for every child to receive a birth certificate – proof of his or her legal identity – following birth registration. And for governments to cover the costs of civil registration systems and ensure those services are accessible and confidential. Parents should not be prevented from registering their children due to financial barriers, such as late fees or other additional costs. 2. Empower all parents, regardless of gender, to register their children at birth All mothers should be empowered to pass on their nationality to their children on an equal basis as men, regardless of marital status. By eliminating gender discrimination in nationality laws and policies, we can combat further marginalization of the most vulnerable. UNICEF calls for every child to be legally registered by either parent to protect his or her right to acquire a nationality at birth. This will help to avoid the risk of statelessness, preserve family unity and guarantee access to education, health care and other social services throughout life. 3. Link birth registration to social services Linking civil registration to other systems – including identity, health, social protection and education – increases the chances that unregistered children will be identified and thus serves as an entry point for registration. Increases in birth registration coverage can, in turn, facilitate children’s access to social services throughout their lives. It also provides governments with a more accurate count of the population, which is essential for planning and implementing development policies and programmes, particularly in health, education, housing, water and sanitation, employment, agriculture and industrial production. UNICEF calls for a coordinated, cost-effective and cohesive approach to connect all systems to ensure that no child is left unregistered and deprived of the opportunity to access social services. 4. Invest in safe and innovative technological solutions to facilitate birth registration Technology can be used to obtain timely, accurate and permanent records. For example, the use of mobile communications technologies, including cell phones, can help reach unregistered children by minimizing the distance and related travel costs for remote populations. It is essential, however, that all data and information collected through identity and registration systems – both digitized and traditional – must be kept confidential to protect children and their families. UNICEF calls for more innovative solutions, including technology and mobile services, to increase access to, and quality of, birth registration services. 5. Engage communities to demand birth registration for every child Demand from local communities is a critical catalyst for governments to take action. To create effective, sustainable change, community members – particularly parents and community leaders – must understand how and why birth registration benefits their families. Only then will behaviours and social norms begin to change. UNICEF calls for increased community engagement to build that buy-in and, in turn, increase incentives to establish and expand birth registration systems. Realizing every child’s right to be registered at birth 35