UNHCR and partners if needed, and ask the parents to provide a copy of the birth certificate when it is available, to include in the UNHCR registration module for the family as soon as possible.28 c. Assess whether a refugee status on an individual or derivative basis should be granted to the newborn child. In case the child of a refugee or asylum-seeker born in country of asylum does not a birth certificate, provide information to refugees and asylumseekers on how to register children’s births with national civil registration authorities and where needed, support the process to ensure the birth of that child is immediately registered. Where authorities are responsible for national asylum procedures, including where relevant refugee status determination, and where a child’s birth is not already fully registered, asylum authorities should provide information on birth registration procedures and refer parent(s) to national civil registration authorities for registration of children’s births. Depending on the context, birth registration may be undertaken before or after the child is registered as an asylum-seeker or granted refugee status by the national asylum authorities. Lack of a birth certificate should not be a barrier to refugee status determination. Also, refugee registration should not be treated as a mandatory prerequisite for registration of refugees’ vital events by civil registration authorities. In situations where it is not possible for asylumseekers or refugee children’s births to be registered by the national civil registration authorities, UNHCR’s registration may be used to document aspects of children’s identity but does not replace a birth certificate issued by national authorities. UNHCR also advocates for flexible procedures for accessing services for children without birth certificates, including the use and recognition of UNHCR issued refugee registration documents for children who have been unable to have their births registered. 28 29 18 Late or delayed birth registration UNHCR supports timely birth registration of children as outlined above. However, the reality is that many older children and adults did not have their births registered when they were born – and this is particularly true for forcibly displaced and stateless persons for the various reasons outlined above. As such, birth registration services must be accessible for older children and adults. Key actions may include: • With partners, advocating for simplified procedures for late birth registration without fees, which benefit forcibly displaced and stateless persons, as well as nationals and other marginalized populations. • Advocating for amnesties or waivers on late fees for birth registration for a period and disseminating this information to forcibly displaced and stateless persons. For more information on guidelines on late or delayed birth registration, see section IV.C.1.h of the United Nations Guidelines on Legislative Framework on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management. Digitalization of birth registration and integrated civil registry and identification systems Digitalization of civil registry systems, especially for birth registration, is increasingly common in countries across the world. Digitalization of civil registration, including birth registration systems has many benefits, including increasing the efficiency of the process, increasing access to birth registration services, increasing permanency of records,29 and facilitating access to copies of birth certificates when needed. It also facilitates For more details on how to conduct registration when identity documents are not available, see UNHCR, “Guidance on registration and information management: 5.2 Registration as an identity management process”, no date, section 5.2.3. https://www.unhcr.org/registration-guidance/chapter5/registration/ (accessed 19 December 2024). Paper-based records can be subject to being lost, damaged or destroyed. Birth registration of forcibly displaced and stateless persons