What Is Birth Registration and Why Does It Matter?

出生登记及其重要性

 

Without legal proof of identity, children are left uncounted and invisible.

缺乏正式的身份证明，儿童在政府的视线中就是“隐身”的

In some countries, birth registration is taken for granted as the norm following childbirth. But in too many others, it is a critical step missing to establish a child’s legal proof of identity. Without it, children are invisible to their governments, meaning they could miss out on their rights being protected and upheld, as well as essential services like health care and education.

在一些国家，儿童出生后就得到登记是理所当然的事情。但是在相当多的其他国家，因为缺少了这一至关重要的步骤，儿童的合法身份无法得到承认。没有得到登记的儿童在政府的视线中是“隐身”的。换言之，这些儿童得不到他们本应享有的权利，包括卫生保健和教育等必要服务。

The births of around one quarter of children under the age of 5 worldwide have never been recorded. These children’s lives matter, but they cannot be protected if governments don’t even know they exist.

全世界范围内，约四分之一的五岁以下儿童未进行登记。他们也是一条条鲜活的生命，但是政府并不知道他们的存在，所以保护也就无从谈起。

What is birth registration?

什么是出生登记？

Birth registration is the process of recording a child’s birth. It is a permanent and official record of a child’s existence, and provides legal recognition of that child’s identity.

出生登记就是记录一个儿童出生的流程。作为证明儿童存在的永久性官方文件，出生登记承认了儿童的合法身份。

At a minimum, it establishes a legal record of where the child was born and who his or her parents are. Birth registration is required for a child to get a birth certificate – his or her first legal proof of identity.

至少其中包括了儿童的出生地以及父母亲身份等信息。儿童办理出生证明，即首个法律身份证明，是需要有出生登记的。

Not only is birth registration a fundamental human right, it also helps ensure that children’s other rights are upheld – like the rights to protection from violence, and essential social services like health care and justice. The information collected from birth registration records helps governments decide where and how to spend money, and what areas to focus on for development programmes, such as education and immunization.

出生登记不仅代表了最基本的人权，也帮助确保捍卫了儿童的其他权利，例如免受暴力侵害的权利，以及卫生保健和诉诸司法等基本社会服务。从出生登记记录收集到的信息可以帮助政府决定资金投入的去向和方式，以及发展方案的关注领域（例如教育和免疫接种）。

What is the difference between birth registration and a birth certificate?

出生登记和出生证明有什么区别？

 

Broadly speaking, birth registration is the process of officially logging a birth with a government authority, and a birth certificate is the paper issued by the state to the parent or caregiver as a result of this process. A birth certificate proves that registration has occurred.

从广义上讲，出生登记是政府部门对婴儿出生进行官方记录的流程，而出生证明是国家在出生登记流程后向婴儿的父母或照料者所发放的一份纸质证书。出生证明能够证明已经进行了出生登记。

Birth registration and birth certificates ideally go hand in hand. However, because the processes for issuing birth certificates can vary depending on location, a child might be registered but never receive a birth certificate.

理想情况下，出生登记和出生证明是同时完成的。但由于不同地区出生证明的发放流程有所差异，可能会有婴儿已经进行登记但并未收到出生证明的情况。

What happens if a child isn’t registered?

如果儿童没有得到登记会怎样？

Birth registration is the only legal way for a child to get a birth certificate.

出生登记是儿童获得出生证明的唯一合法渠道。

This legal proof of identity can help protect children from violence, abuse and exploitation. Without a birth certificate, children are unable to prove their age, which puts them at a much higher risk of being forced into early marriage or the labour market, or recruited into armed forces.

这一合法身份证明能够保护儿童免受暴力、虐待和剥削。如果没有出生证明，儿童便无法证明自己的真实年龄，因此面临更高的童婚或童工、童子军风险。

It can also help protect migrant and refugee children against family separation, trafficking and illegal adoption. Without it, these children are at a much higher risk of statelessness, meaning they do not have legal ties to any country, including a nationality.

出生证明也可以保护移民和难民儿童免于与家人失散、被贩卖或非法收养。如果没有出生证明，儿童将面临更高的无国籍风险。也就是说，他们与任何国家都不存在法律联系，也没有国籍。

Without a birth certificate, many children can’t get routine vaccines and other healthcare services. They may be unable to attend school or register for exams. As a result, their future job opportunities are extremely limited, which makes them more likely to live in poverty.

如果没有出生证明，许多儿童就无法接受定期的疫苗接种，也无法获得其他卫生保健服务。他们可能无法上学或参加各种考试。最终，他们未来的就业机会极为渺茫，很大可能性会生活在贫困当中。

In young adulthood, children will need this official identification for basic but important transactions like opening a bank account, registering to vote, getting a passport, entering the formal job market, buying or inheriting property, or receiving social assistance.

成年后，这一官方证明是许多基本但重要交易流程的基础，比如开立银行账户、登记投票、办理护照、进入正规就业市场、购买或继承资产，或接受社会援助等。

 

How many children aren’t registered?

有多少儿童尚未得到登记？

 

Birth registration is almost universal in most high-income countries. But in low- and middle-income countries, on average, one in four children under age 5 (166 million) are not registered. Of these 166 million children, half live in just five countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

绝大多数高收入国家已经实现了儿童登记全覆盖。但在中低收入国家，平均五岁以下儿童中有四分之一（1.66亿）尚未得到登记。在这1.66亿名儿童中，半数生活在如下五个国家：刚果民主共和国、埃塞俄比亚、印度、尼日利亚和巴基斯坦。

Even when children are registered, they may not have proof of registration. An estimated 237 million children under age 5 worldwide currently do not have a birth certificate.

即便得到登记，儿童也有可能得不到登记证明。目前，全球约有2.37亿名五岁以下儿童没有出生证明。

Why aren’t all children being registered at birth?

为什么没有实现对所有婴儿进行出生时即登记？

 

There are a wide range of reasons why children don’t get registered. In most circumstances, these children live in poorer households, often in rural areas with limited access to registration services, or in the more than 100 countries without fully functioning civil registration systems.

儿童得不到登记的原因很多。大多数情况下，这些儿童生活在相对穷困的家庭，通常是在农村地区，登记服务本身就提供不足；还有一些是生活在民事登记系统无法全面运作的100多个国家。

In other cases, parents may be unaware of birth registration or may not understand how important it is. Cost is also a significant barrier: parents may be unable to afford the costs associated with registration, including travel to registration sites or late fees.

也有的情况是儿童的父母不知道有出生登记这回事，或者不了解出生登记的重要性。成本也是一个重要的阻碍。有些父母可能承担不起与登记相关的费用，包括前往登记处的路费和滞纳金等。

Certain ethnic or religious minorities have lower birth registration rates than the national average. This may be because their culture places more emphasis on other customs (like naming ceremonies), or because they are marginalized, often living in remote areas or unrecognized by their governments.

一些少数民族或宗教族群的出生登记率低于国民平均水平。这可能是因为他们的文化更多地关注了其他习俗（例如命名仪式），或是他们因居住在偏远地区或未被政府注意到而被边缘化了。

And in a number of countries, women do not share the same rights as men when it comes to registering their children. Some are unable to register their children at all, while others may only be able to do so with the father present.

在许多国家，在涉及到儿童登记时，无法做到男女平权。有些是完全无法进行儿童登记，也有些是要求登记过程必须有孩子父亲在场。

How is birth registration a gender inequality issue?

为什么出生登记会成为一个性别不平等的问题？

 

In many parts of the world, women do not have the same rights or ability to register their child’s birth as men. There are still 25 countries where women do not have the same rights as men to legally pass their nationality to their own children. This kind of gender discrimination in national laws and policies needs to be reviewed and revised to eliminate the negative impacts on communities.

在世界上的许多地方，在为孩子进行登记这一问题上，女性无法享有与男性同等的权利或能力。现在还有25个国家的女性无权将其国籍传给其子女。需要在国家法案和政策中对此类性别歧视进行审查和修订，消除其对社会的负面影响。

A mother may face gender discrimination when she tries to register her child, for something as simple as not having an ID or marriage certificate, or if the father was not present or named on the birth form.

在尝试为子女进行登记时，母亲可能会面临性别歧视，也许仅仅因为忘了带身份证或者结婚证，或者孩子父亲没来或名字没有填在出生表格上，就饱受刁难。

Women may be unable to register their children if the father is unknown, or if he refuses to acknowledge paternity – such as in cases of survivors of rape or incest.

如果孩子父亲身份不明，或孩子父亲拒绝承认亲子关系（例如强奸或乱伦），女性可能就无法对子女进行登记。

Lack of birth registration can also reinforce existing gender gaps in areas like education. Worldwide, 132 million girls are out of school, and these girls are more likely than out-of-school boys to never enrol in school. Not having a birth certificate makes it even more difficult for them to do so. And girls without birth certificates who are unable to legally prove their age are also even more susceptible to child marriage, after which they are much less likely to complete their education.

缺乏出生登记也加剧了教育等领域的性别差距。全世界范围内，失学女童数量达到1.32亿。比起同样失学的男童，这些女童永远都无法获得就读机会的概率更高。加之没有出生证明，境况对她们来讲更是雪上加霜。没有出生证明的女童无法证明她们的年龄，所以更容易被安排早早结婚，这样一来，完成学业也就成为泡影。

How can birth registration rates be improved?

如何提高出生登记率？

 

Legal identity, including birth registration, is a human right. For every child to fulfil this right, governments must improve and strengthen civil registration systems.

合法身份，包括出生登记，是一项人权。为了保护所有儿童的这一项权利，各国政府必须改进并加强民事登记系统。

Improving birth registration rates can be done in a number of ways, including eliminating registration fees and late fees, or giving cash grants to families who register their children. Increasing the number of trained registrars, and/or sending them to remote areas in mobile registration units can also help governments reach more vulnerable populations.

可以通过多种方式提高出生登记率，包括取消登记费用和滞纳金，向进行登记的家庭发放现金补助等。增加训练有素的登记员人数，同时/或将他们安排到移动登记点，帮助政府实现偏远地区弱势群体的登记。

Technology offers a promising solution as well. The Governments of Pakistan and Tanzania have introduced smartphone apps for birth registration, which allow registrars to digitally collect and upload birth registration data to a protected, centralized system, in real-time.

在技术的加持下，未来也会有更好的解决方案。巴基斯坦和坦桑尼亚政府已经推出了用于出生登记的智能手机应用程序，登记员能够实时在线收集并上传出生登记数据到受保护的集中式系统。

Ultimately, we need to make birth registration the new normal in communities where it is not regularly practiced. This means advocating for governments to revise their laws and policies, and working with communities to shift attitudes and behaviours – showing the value and benefits of birth registration to create a demand for it.

最终，我们要在那些尚未落实出生登记的社区将出生登记变成新常态。需要呼吁各政府修订法律和政策，并与社区协作转变态度和行为——展示出生登记的价值和裨益，让人们有进行出生登记的需求。

What is UNICEF doing to help?

联合国儿童基金会正在采取哪些帮助措施？

 

UNICEF has been a key player in birth registration globally for over 30 years. In 2018, we worked with governments and communities to register over 16 million births and issue birth certificates to over 13 million people.

过去三十多年中，联合国儿童基金会一直在推进全球出生登记进程中扮演重要角色。2018年，我们与各政府和社区合作，对超过1600万名新生儿进行登记，并发放了超过1300万份出生证明。

Our work focuses on helping governments strengthen their civil registration systems. This includes increasing the number of service points where children can be registered, developing or updating birth registration policies, innovations in registration technology, and increasing community awareness about birth registration.

我们的工作重点在于协助政府加强民事登记系统。其中包括增加登记点的数量，制定或更新出生登记政策，开展登记技术创新，以及提高社区对于出生登记的认识。

We also work with other sectors, like health and education, to integrate birth registration into their work. This includes increasing birth registration in hospitals and health centres, including birth registration in immunization drives, and linking birth registration systems to national cash transfer system and student databases.

我们也在卫生和教育等领域提供协助，将出生登记渗透到各个方面。具体包括增加医院和卫生保健中心的出生登记（包括免疫接种），将出生登记系统与国家现金转账体系和学生数据库互联。

The world has made substantial progress on birth registration over the past 20 years. Today, around 75 per cent of children under 5 are registered, compared to 60 per cent in 2000. Without this progress, an additional 100 million children would be unregistered today.

过去二十多年中，我们在出生登记方面已经取得了显著的成果。如今，约75%的五岁以下儿童已经得到登记，而这一数字在2000年仅为60%。如果没有这一进步，还会有另外1亿名儿童无法登记。

But countries need more investment and commitment to achieve universal birth registration by 2030.

然而，各国需要加大投资和承诺，以在2030年实现全面出生登记。

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