Children’s Right to Civil Registration and Vital Statistics

Overview

Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia), together with partners including UN ESCAP, World Vision, UNICEF, Plan International, Vital Strategies, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, has been advocating to strengthen Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) in Asia and the Pacific.

Civil registration is a human right and CRC Asia believes that every child has the right to be registered at birth – it’s their first legal recognition as a person and a foundation for all other rights. Without civil registration, children can be left invisible – denied healthcare, education, and protection.

This initiative is part of the Asian and Pacific CRVS Decade (2015–2024), ensuring that every person is legally recognized, every child counts, and no one is left behind.

Our Journey

First Ministerial Conference to “Get Everyone in the Picture”

In 2014, countries in Asia and the Pacific who attended the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration to “Get Every One in the Picture” and proclaimed 2015-2024 as the “Asian and Pacific CRVS Decade.” This Declaration includes the “shared vision that by 2024, all people in Asia and the Pacific will benefit from universal and responsive civil registration and vital statistics systems that facilitate the realization of their rights and support good governance, health, and development.

This was accompanied by a Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific, which provides guidance to countries and development partners in the region working to improve CRVS. The Regional Steering Group guides the implementation of the framework and acts as the custodian of the Asia and Pacific CRVS Decade (2015-2024).

Second Ministerial Conference & Preparatory Events

The Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific (16–19 November 2021) reviewed regional progress and set new commitments.

Leading up to it:

Watch the full video statement here.

Young Voices Amplified: Children and Youth Forum and the 3rd Ministerial Conference

Several youth advocates stood before ministers and state officials at the Third Ministerial Conference on CRVS last June 26-28 to ask governments in Asia Pacific to address unregistered births and provide legal identifies to stateless children.

In preparation, CRC Asia co-organized the Children and Youth in the Picture Forum (4–6 March 2025, Bangkok) to gather messages from youth advocates. Among these are the following:

  • Accountability & Anti-Corruption – “Officials should be accountable. Bribes for services must stop.”
  • Inclusion – “Governments need to ensure inclusive civil registration by considering fragile contexts like migration, statelessness, conflict, polygamy, and abandonment.”
  • Accessibility & Affordability – Fee waivers, mobile registration, and digital access are needed.
  • Digitalization with Safeguards – Build efficient, secure systems that protect privacy.
  • Awareness & Education – Child-friendly and localized campaigns boost registration.
  • Legal & Social Reform – Ensure laws anticipate consequences like exclusion from inheritance or services

Watch the full video of their joint statement here.

Join Us

CRC Asia is committed to making CRVS systems child-centered, inclusive, transparent, and rights-based. We invite governments, CSOs, youth, and partners to work together so no child is invisible.

📌 Stay updated with reports, statements, and resources through our CRVS campaign hub

Resources

Fact Sheet: Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific

Getting Children and Youth in the Picture 2021: A Report on the Consultation with Children and Young People on the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific

Other Links to Resources

In Their Words

During the forum, children shared a collective call to action through poetry:

Bridge the gap, break the silence, register now.
Raise awareness, secure futures, register now.
Transform communities, build equality, register now.
Empower marginalized communities, promote equal opportunity, register now.