G.T.B. v. SPAIN JUDGMENT Section 29(1) “When the public authorities, by virtue of a general provision that does not require implementing provisions or by virtue of an act, contract or administrative agreement, are obliged to carry out a specific service in favour of one or several specified persons who are entitled to it, those persons may request that the authorities fulfil that obligation. If, within three months from the date of the request, the authorities have not complied with the request or have not reached an agreement with the interested parties, the latter may lodge an administrative appeal against the inactivity of the authorities.” II. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL 79. The importance of birth registration for the respect of children’s human rights has been reflected in several reports from international bodies, including UNICEF, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, or the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, among other. A report from UNICEF titled “Every Child’s Birth Right: Inequities and trends in birth registration” of 2013 referred to birth registration as “a passport to protection of children”. 80. On 17 June 2014, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report on “Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the law”. The report defined birth registration as “the continuous, permanent and universal recording within the civil registry of the occurrence and characteristics of birth, in accordance with the national legal requirements. It establishes the existence of a person under law, and lays the foundation for safeguarding civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. As such, it is a fundamental means of protecting the human rights of the individual.” The report particularly emphasised how “the fulfilment of the right to be registered at birth is closely linked to the realization of many other rights; socioeconomic rights, such as the right to health and the right to education, are at particular risk where birth registration is not systematically carried out, and the protection of children is jeopardized.” Some relevant extracts of the report read as follows: II. Birth registration: overview ... “5. On a procedural level, birth registration involves three interrelated processes. First, there must be the declaration of the occurrence of the birth to civil registrars. Second, once notified, civil registrars officially record the birth. Registration should include the individual’s name, date and place of birth, as well as, where possible, the name, age or date of birth, place of usual residence and nationality of both parents. Third, the State issues a birth certificate, a personal document to attest birth registration and the most visible evidence of the State’s legal recognition of the child. Whether this procedure is followed automatically after registration or requires another application depends on the country; it is vital, however, that this document is accessible easily and provided free of charge. 19