Fisher: Citizenship, Federalism, and Delayed Birth Registration 2024] C ITIZENSHIP, F EDERALISM, AND DELAYED BIRTH R EGISTRATION 53 authorized civil registration authority following the occurrence of birth.”16 Thus, a person’s birth registration records the facts of birth such as parentage and place of birth, establishes a person’s legal identity, and demonstrates that the state recognizes the facts of birth. Part II.A describes the role of birth registration as a widely recognized human right, and Part II.B provides background on birth registration in the United States. Part II.B.1 outlines the cooperative federal nature of birth registration in the United States, with each state operating a unique birth registration system, implemented by thousands of doctors, midwives, and other reporters supplying information on births. Part II.B.2 recognizes the dark history of birth registration as a tool of discrimination in the United States. Finally, Part II.B.3 explores birth registration’s relationship to other legal processes to establish U.S. citizenship. A. Birth Registration and Human Rights Access to birth registration is a human right recognized in numerous widely ratified treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)’s article 7, which indicates that: The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name [and] the right to acquire a nationality . . . . State Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless. 17 Article 8 mandates that states respect the rights of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name, and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference [and] provide appropriate assistance and protection [if a child is] illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity . . . 18 Article 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) requires governments to ensure that children “shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have a name.” 19 16. U.N. Secretary-General, Introduction of the United Nations Legal Identity Agenda: A Holistic Approach to Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management, ¶ 4, E/CN.3/2020/15 (Dec. 18, 2019). 17. Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature Nov. 20, 1989, 1577 U.N.T.S. 3. 18. Id. at art. 8. 19. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights at art. 24(2), opened for signature Dec. 19, 1966, S. TREATY DOC. NO. 95–20 [hereinafter ICCPR]. Published by IdeaExchange@UAkron, 2025 5