National CRC Monitoring Mechanism No papers – no birth certificate? Recommendations for registering children of refugees born in Germany Position Paper Registering a child immediately after birth is a State obligation under article 7(1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Registration serves to identify a newborn and is a prerequisite for enjoying other rights. In practice, registering the children of refugees born in Germany often takes several months if their parents cannot adequately prove their own identity. This paper provides recommendations on how to implement the provisions of the Convention on registering births. To register the birth of a child, registry offices require civil status documents from the parents, which refugees may not have. It is often impossible to procure papers from their home countries from both a legal and a practical perspective. But, even without civil status documents from the parents, the right to non-discrimination in article 2 UN CRC guarantees the protection of the children of those affected from being disadvantaged because their parents’ identity is unclear.1 Following complaints from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child2, an instrument for obtaining a certificate promptly3 was created when the German Civil Status Ordinance (PStV) was revised in the form of section 35: if the registry office does not have any suitable proof of the parents’ identities, an additional explanatory note can be made in the entry of the birth and a certified extract from the registry can be issued. Although no birth certificate will be issued until this record is completed with a subsequent certification, the certified extract from the registry is legally equivalent to the birth certificate by law in accordance with section 54(2) of the German Civil Status Act (PStG). By “immediately” in article 7(1) UN CRC, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child means registering the birth as soon as possible.4 Welfare associations and advice centres have repeatedly reported on children whose birth was not registered in Germany for months. During this period, these children are practically “invisible”.5 This problem has also been the subject of reports in the media,6 studies7 and questions to parliament at national,8 state9 and municipal10 level. Initial jurisprudence11 shows that there are children who do not receive a birth certificate or a certified registry extract for a long time and instead only receive a document attesting to the deferment of the issue of the certificate in accordance with section 7(2) PStV. Only systematic collection of data can confirm whether this is a nationwide problem.12 However, the state interior ministries responsible have not yet collected any precise figures.13 Problems accessing medical and state services Newborns need the “U” medical check-ups and the vaccinations recommended by the Robert Koch Institute. These medical services should be provided within certain time frames – with the six U1 to U6 medical check-ups being performed in the first year of life. If this does not happen and tolerance limits14 are exceeded, the check-up is billed to the parents as an individual health service. Particularly in the case of parents who make a living for their family (primarily) from