WHAT ARE THE IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES TO RESPECTING IDENTITY RIGHTS?
A number of obstacles exist in terms of implementing the child’s right to legal identity. While civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems are set up to record all births, their emphasis to date, is on the child’s name, gender, date and place of birth. Some CRVS systems may record (limited) information about the birth family, but do not yet record all information about family relations.
SPECIFIC CHALLENGES
Further, when multiple States are involved, legal challenges may arise in finding which courts or authorities have jurisdiction to decide on identity issues and which laws apply.
CRVS systems are currently not set up to ensure the recognition of the child’s legal status across borders. This situation can be further complicated when information about origins has been generated by illicit acts or not stored in perpetuity, that become part of the child’s established identity. Children may, as well as later as adults, report feeling “commodified” in these situations.
In other situations, the child’s original identity may be improperly and even illicitly modified. Identity information may not be preserved and/or accessible. Without proactive efforts by the State to preserve the child’s identity and restore missing elements, the right cannot be implemented.
