Thematic report | 03 August 2021 Despite the 2020 high court ruling ordering birth registrations to resume, the process has not been fully implemented in all unions. The Cox’s Bazar district administration implemented new conditions for birth registration once the process resumed. Before the suspension, applications were submitted to a registrar who knew all residents in the area, and the reference process did not take long. Most people received their certificates within a few hours or days (KII 23/03/2021). When registration services resumed in 2020, new committees were formed under the registrar at the district and subdistrict levels to help reference all birth registration applications. These committees have been overwhelmed with new applications and the backlogged applications from before 2017. As a result, many applicants have not yet received their birth certificates (KII 23/03/2021; KII 08/04/2021; KII 16/06/2021). Late fees have not been waived for births that were not registered during the suspension, making the service inaccessible for some families as a result of the cost, which can amount up to BDT 500 (approximately USD 5.50) (KII 16/06/2021). Residents of Cox’s Bazar have also been required to provide additional documents for birth registration. An unsigned notice on the door of the registrar’s office in Cox’s Bazar in February 2021 stated that these documents were needed: 1. passport-size photo of the applicant 2. photocopy of the father’s NID 3. photocopy of educational qualification certificate or certification by a physician 4. photocopy of the child’s vaccination card. 5. Additional documents included: 6. photocopy of land deed 7. photocopy of municipal tax bill 8. photocopy of death certificate in case of death of father or mother. Since January 2021, if an applicant is born after 2001, the parents’ birth registrations are also needed, which require other additional documents (BDNews24 19/02/2021). Some of these requirements are not stated in legislation, and the documents can be challenging for some people to obtain (KII 08/04/2021). When registering the births of the child’s parents, they are often asked to submit the birth certificate numbers of their own parents (the child’s grandparents) who, in many cases, have passed away without having registered their births. 5 This causes complications for people aged 40+ who need to register their own births to register the birth of their children (BDNews24 19/02/2021). Another complication is language. If the parents’ birth certificates are in English, the child will get a birth certificate in English. If the parents’ birth certificates are in Bangla, then the child will receive a birth certificate in Bangla. However, if the parents birth certificates are in two different languages, they cannot apply for their child’s birth certificate (BDNews24 19/02/2021). As a result, the parents then have to go through additional steps to acquire birth certificates in the same language before applying for their child. The provision of many of these supporting documents requires additional logistical and administrative fees, as well as the required payments for late birth registrations, posing a barrier for more vulnerable households. As birth registration is still suspended in many areas, people are required to make multiple long trips to access upazila- and district-level registrars. In Teknaf and Ukhia, where the literacy rate among Bangladeshi citizens is low (26% and 36%, respectively) (ACAPS 01/10/2020), people may struggle to access education, understand registration information, or use the internet to apply online. People living in precarious or informal housing may not be able to acquire utility bills and other residencerelated documentation. Because of the prolonged suspension of birth registration services, at the time of writing, people in Cox’s Bazar could provide alternative means of verifying identity when applying for further documentation or availing services. For example, references from local government officials could be used to apply for NIDs, register a marriage, enrol in school, and access other services (KII 16/06/2021). However, these options are not accessible to everyone, and procuring them can be costly and time-consuming.