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Birth registration and identity

in Greece

  1. Home
  3. Participation and Civil Rights
  4. Birth registration and identity

Children affected

  • Birth registration is almost universal.

Equity

Other

  • About 10 per cent of Roma children are not registered at birth.
  • 3.3 per cent of total Roma population has issues related to their civil registration in their municipality population registry (inability to issue an ID card, statelessness, lack of, incomplete or incorrect birth certificate). The issue is more prevalent in the Regions of Central Greece (9.8 per cent), South Aegean Islands (6.2 per cent), and Ionian Islands (6.8 per cent) (2021). 

Enabling Environment

Legislation, policy, resources, coordination, data

Bottlenecks

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CRC Recommendations (2022)

  • 21(b) Repeal the requirement of a certified marriage certificate for registering both parents in the birth certificate of their child;
  • 21(c) Establish legal safeguards to prevent statelessness of children born to foreign parents and children born to same-sex couples and facilitate their access to Greek citizenship;
  • 21(d) Establish statelessness determination procedures;
  • 21(e) Consider ratifying the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1997 European Convention on Nationality.
  • 22. The Committee urges the State party to ensure the right of children to preserve their identity in cases of abandonment in institutions and to have access to information about their origin if born through assisted reproduction technologies, including surrogacy and donor arrangements, as well in case of adoption.

National Actions

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Supply

Adequately staffed services, facilities, information, commodities

Bottlenecks

  • Services are free of charge and universally provided but might require transportation costs and informal payments.

CRC Recommendations (2022)

  • 21(a) Further facilitate access to birth registration procedures and identity documentation and correction of birth certificates for Roma children and children of migrant parents, free of charge.

National Actions

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Demand

Financial access and social behavioural drivers

Bottlenecks

  • Roma population birth registration is hampered by social norms and stigma.

CRC Recommendations

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National Actions

  • Design targeted information and awareness campaigns to improve birth registration amongst the excluded groups and promote the use of specialized support (i.e., Roma mediators).