Every year 500,000 Brazilian children are born and do not receive a birth certificate before their first birthday.
BRAZIL, 14 March 2006 - With the participation of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, UNICEF launched this Monday, March 13th, a campaign about the importance of realizing all Brazilian children's right to a free birth certificate.
The launch ceremony counted with the presence of Minister Paulo Vannuchi (head of the Special Secretariat of Human Rights), Marie-Pierre Poirier (UNICEF Representative to Brazil), and Ms. Nahyma Abas (General Justice Attorney from the city of Santa Quitéria do Maranhão).
In 2005, Santa Quitéria do Maranhão was the first Brazilian municipality to eradicate under-registration of children. At present, every citizen of Santa Quitéria has a birth certificate. UNICEF helped bring together civil society, the municipal government, the judges, and the General Attorney's office, to seek ways to actively identify those citizens who still had no birth certificate.
With the campaign launched on March 13th, UNICEF expects to contribute to Brazil's efforts to fulfill the objective of reducing the under-registration rate to 6% by October 2006. Although important progress has been made over the past three years, the most recent data collected by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reveal that every year 500,000 boys and girls still fail to be registered during their first year of life.
“If Brazil is to meet the Millennium Development Goals for all Brazilians, not a single child can be left behind. The majority of the more than half a million children without a birth certificate are Afro-descendents, indigenous, or live in the Semi-arid region. These children need to become visible, and the birth certificate is the first act of citizenship", declared Marie-Pierre Poirier.
On March 14th, the Globo TV network – the largest in Brazil – will start broadcasting at the national level a video on birth certificate produced in partnership with UNICEF.
With a 30-second duration, the video recalls that every child has the right to a free birth certificate. In order to be vaccinated, enrolled at school, or receive social benefits, a child needs to have a birth certificate. Without it, children are more vulnerable to exploitation.
Furthermore, without this document, the governments find it more difficult to plan proper programmes and social policies targeted at children.
In Brazil, the birth certificate is issued free-of-charge for every child.
For more information:
United Nations Children’s Fund Telephone (55 61) 3035 1900
Brasilia Office Facsimile (55 61) 3349 0606
P.O. Box 08584 brasilia@unicef.org
Brasilia, Brazil www.unicef.org/brazil
