Also in line with Action 7, the Government of Rwanda endorsed civil registration services at health
centres during an extraordinary cabinet meeting on
16 June. To ensure legal identity for all, in line with
SDG Target 16.9, this action permits a “one-stop
approach”: when the birth occurs, all processes of
notification, registration and certification are done
at once, thereby increasing the number of persons
with birth certificates. This development follows the
amendment of the 2016 Law Governing Persons and
Family published in the official gazette in February
this year.
Furthermore on Action 7, in Morocco UNHCR
launched a survey with a legal partner to identify
and assist children who have not been registered at
birth. The ultimate goal is to regularize the civil status
situation of all children born to refugees and asylum
seekers in the country.
Finally, with respect to Action 9, Accede to the UN
Statelessness Conventions, the National Assembly
in the Republic of Congo adopted bills in favour of
accession to the two UN Conventions on Statelessness on 26 June.
Media impact of the Campaign
On 25 June, UNHCR and the Governments of Togo,
Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea started a virtual awareness campaign on the importance of birth registration and challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The media campaign will be carried out through
advertisement spots featuring government officials,
artists and influencers on TV, radio, and social media
in urban and rural areas. The spots will be translated
into various local languages.
Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary
entitled “Stateless” follows the grassroots campaign
of an activist named Rosa Iris as she fights to protect
the right to citizenship for all people in the Dominican Republic.
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