ISI Database on Statelessness and
Human Rights

63. The Committee welcomes the amendments to the Constitution which seek to eliminate statelessness for children born to Chileans abroad, however remains concerned that children of foreigners without legal residence in Chile may remain exposed to statelessness. Furthermore, the Committee regrets that the State party has still not adopted adequate legislation in accordance with international obligations for refugee protection. The Committee is also concerned that refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children lack adequate access to health services while their applications to the national registry system are being processed, and that they face de facto discrimination in exercising their right to education. Furthermore, the Committee regrets the paucity of information on the situation of refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children in the State party report and the State party reply to the list of issues.

64. The Committee recommends that the State party: 

(a) Ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness; 

(b) Ensure prompt adoption and implementation of adequate legislation in accordance with international obligations for refugee protection; 

(c) Ensure that refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children are guaranteed speedy processing of their registration and identity documents and that they not be denied access to health services and education during this period; 

(d) Take all measures to guarantee protection of refugee children in line with international human rights and refugee law, while taking into account the Committee’s general comment No. 6 (2005) on the treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin; 

(e) Provide adequate information on the situation of refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children in its next periodic report under the Convention; 

(f) Seek the advisory services of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

18. The Committee notes with concern the lack of data on areas including domestic adoption, street children, children involved in armed conflicts, children without parental care, children involved in the justice system, and sexually abused and trafficked children.

19. The Committee encourages the State party, with reference to the need to significantly improve birth registration, to strengthen its system of collecting disaggregated data, especially in relation to the areas indicated in the preceding paragraph, as a basis for assessing progress achieved in the realization of children’s rights and to help design policies to implement the Convention. The Committee also recommends that the State party seek technical assistance from UNICEF in this regard.

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31. The Committee regrets the absence of institutional structures and adequate legal framework to ensure birth registration. The Committee is deeply concerned that a very large number of children are neither registered at birth nor at a later stage.

32. The Committee reiterates its concern from the previous periodic review and urges the State party to strengthen and further develop measures to ensure that all children born within the national territory are registered by adopting an adequate legal framework. Furthermore, the Committee urges the State party to create institutional structures that are accessible and free in order to implement effective birth registration, e.g. by introducing mobile units, especially in rural and remote areas and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugee camps. The Committee recommends the State party to seek technical assistance from UNICEF for the implementation of these recommendations.

35. While noting the measures undertaken to implement the Committee’s previous recommendation, including the establishment of Registry Offices at District (arrondissement) level and the conduct of awareness raising campaigns, the Committee is concerned that many children are still not registered at birth, in particular children living in remote rural communities and children from disadvantaged families.

36. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure that birth registration is made accessible to all parents within the State party. The Committee also recommends that the State party provide support to the local authorities to promote a higher level of birth registration, eventually with auxiliary registry officers at village level, and launch a national campaign of mobile court hearings making complementary decisions on late birth declarations, which should be free of charge.

30. The Committee welcomes the efforts made to promote birth registration, such as the Birth registration campaign and the involvement of municipal authorities, religious and community leaders in the birth registration process. However, the Committee is concerned at the persistent disparities between urban and rural areas in this respect.

31. The Committee recommends that the State party continues its efforts of systematic birth registration for all children born within the national territory, especially in rural and remote areas. The Committee further urges the State party to proceed with the registration of those children who have not thus far been registered.

33. While welcoming the law in which birth registration has become compulsory, the Committee expresses concern at the fact that a large number of children have still not been registered. The Committee is also concerned at registration fees and penalties attached to late birth registration, which may hinder the process. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of civil registry offices in remote areas and the insufficient awareness of the importance of registration.

34. In the light of article 7 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party establish an efficient and accessible birth registration system, including for noncitizens, which covers its entire territory, including through inter alia:

(a) Promoting awareness and appreciation of the importance of birth registration through mass campaigns by providing information on the procedure of birth registration, including the rights and entitlements derived from the registration, through television, radio and printed materials or other means;

(b) Ensuring that birth registration is free of charge; 

(c) Introducing mobile birth registration units in order to reach remote areas;

(d) Taking appropriate measures to register those who have not been registered at birth, including indigenous children and refugee children; and

(e) Enhancing its cooperation with relevant United Nations programmes, funds and specialized agencies such as UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

32. While noting that the Constitution addresses the right to identity, the Committee is nevertheless concerned that the child does not derive his or her citizenship through the mother unless the child is born outside of marriage and is not adopted or claimed by the father. 

33. As a matter of non-discrimination and in the best interests of the child, the Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary legislative measures to ensure that a child can derive nationality not only from the father, but also from the mother.

34. The Committee notes with appreciation the various efforts undertaken by the State party to improve birth registration but remains concerned at the considerable number of children not registered at birth (or later).

35. In the light of article 7 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen and further develop measures to ensure that all children born within the national territory are registered by, inter alia, making birth registration easy and free of charge and introducing mobile units, especially in rural areas. The Committee further urges the State party to proceed with the registration of those children who have thus far not been registered.

36. The Committee is encouraged by the provisions of the draft Child Rights Act which incorporate the principle of the best interests of the child and it takes note of the legislative amendments which enshrine this principle. However, the Committee is concerned that this general principle is not fully applied and duly integrated in the implementation of the legislation, policies and programmes of the State party as well as in administrative and judicial decisions. For example, the implementation of the Jordanian Nationality Act may result in statelessness of the child.

37. As regards article 3, paragraph 1 of the Convention, the Committee emphasizes that the Convention is indivisible and its articles are interdependent and that the best interests of the child is a general principle of relevance to the implementation of the whole Convention. The State party should ensure that the best interests of the child is a primary concern, taken into account in all revisions of the legislation as well as in judicial and administrative decisions, and in projects, programmes and services which have an impact on children.

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44. The Committee welcomes the amendment of the Jordanian Passport Act in 2003 according to which women and their children may obtain passports without the written permission of their husbands. However, the Committee notes that children of Jordanian fathers acquire Jordanian nationality at birth, regardless of the child’s birthplace, but that Jordanian women cannot transmit their nationality to their children born from a marriage with a non-Jordanian man, except under special humanitarian circumstances. The Committee is concerned that in some cases this may result in statelessness.

45. The Committee recommends that the State party review and amend the Jordanian Nationality Act (Law No. 7 of 1954) in order to ensure that a Jordanian mother married to a non-Jordanian man has the right to confer her nationality to her children equally and without discrimination.

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80. In the light of articles 3 and 22 and other relevant provisions of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party accede to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol as well as to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and develop a legislative framework for the protection of asylum-seeking and refugee children, particularly unaccompanied children.

7. The Committee regrets that no progress has been made in withdrawing, or limiting the extent of, the State party’s reservations to articles 7, 9, paragraph 4, 14, 21 and 30 of the Convention since the consideration of the State party’s initial report (CRC/C/78/Add.1).

8. The Committee reiterates, in the light of article 51, paragraph 2 of the Convention, its previous recommendation that the State party review its reservations with a view to withdrawing them, or limiting their extent, in accordance with the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 (A/CONF.157/23).

17. The Committee recommends that the State party undertake measures to develop a systematic and comprehensive collection and disaggregation of data that is consistent with the Convention, and can be used for the development, implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes for children. Particular emphasis should be placed on gathering data relating to children who need special attention, including non-citizens, stateless and refugee children, and children of minorities. Consideration should be given to conducting analytical, in-depth studies on children who are particularly vulnerable, such as child victims of abuse, neglect, or ill-treatment; street children; children with disabilities and special needs; and children in long-term institutional care and residential boarding schools.

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26. The Committee welcomes the various steps taken by the State party to expedite the naturalization process of non-citizen and stateless children. The Committee remains concerned, however, that despite the 1998 amendment of the Citizenship Law, which entitles children born in the period 1992-2005 to citizenship, and is granted upon application, a considerable number of children in Latvia still do not yet have Latvian citizenship or are stateless.

27. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to accelerate the naturalization process for those who wish to gain citizenship, with the goal of eliminating the transitional legal status of non-citizens. The Committee encourages the State party to provide more information and support to the parents of non-citizen and stateless children to ensure that all children in Latvia can easily acquire citizenship.

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52. The Committee welcomes the entry into force of the new law on asylum, yet is concerned that asylum-seekers and their children may be held at the border at inadequate detention facilities without access to medical care, and deported without access to legal counsel. The Committee is concerned that children born to parents who are asylum-seekers cannot be issued formal birth certificates. It is also concerned that the definition of “family” found in section 29 of the Asylum Law limits opportunities for family reunification, particularly in the case of separated or unaccompanied children whose parents are deceased or whose whereabouts are unknown.

53. The Committee recommends that the State party:

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(c) Ensure that the births of children born to asylum-seekers are immediately registered in accordance with article 7 of the Convention;

32. In the light of article 7 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party implement an efficient birth registration system that covers its territory fully, including through:

(a) Ensuring birth registration free of charge;

(b) Introducing mobile birth registration units in order to reach the remote areas;

(c) Taking appropriate measures to register those who have not been registered at birth; and

(d) Formalizing links between various service delivery structures and promoting awareness and appreciation of the importance of birth registration through mass campaigns that provide information on the procedure of birth registration, including the rights and entitlements derived from the registration, through, inter alia, television, radio and printed materials.