El Salvador

Impact of the universal birth registration campaign

Before the universal birth registration campaign was launched in 2005 

In 2002, 90% of children were registered, according to an assessment by the Inter-American Institute for Children. There were 200,000 births a year, according to 2004 Health Ministry figures  

Following the campaign 

Information not available.   

Government policy and practice on birth registration 

In May 2005, the central government called on governmental institutions working on child protection and on international cooperation bodies to sign an agreement in favour of the right of Salvadorian children to have an identity. This was the first step towards creating the monitoring committee for the right of Salvadorian children to an identity (COSEDINS). The committee helps governmental institutions to organise specific activities to reduce the birth-registration gap.    

The National Registry of Individuals office hopes to train 262 officials responsible for vital records within the municipal offices. The office of the Attorney General of the state prioritises attention to non-registered persons in its 17 branch offices. The Ministry for the Families and the Salvadorian Institute for the Integral Development of Children and Adolescents has negotiated the inclusion of new members, and prioritises the dissemination of the right to an identity as a cross-cutting topic for its work. The Ministry of Education has included a question in the school enrolment census to quantify the level of non-registered children among school-attending children. The Ministry of Health has included a vital records office in public hospitals for newborn registration.   

Outcomes

• Policy and legislation changes

There are proposals to reform family status registration transitory law and the matrimonial property regime to extend the period for birth registration; however, these have not been taken up by members of the legislative assembly.  A new integral protection of children and adolescents law was approved in April 2009 and comes into effect one year after its approval. This law includes articles related to birth registration, extending the period for registration of births from 15 to 90 days, and clearly states that the first birth certificate should be free. Plan was invited to participate in the team responsible for writing the proposal during the consultation on this law.  

• Government capacity and practice

Governmental practices have improved since the creation of COSEDINS. However, implementation has been limited due to the lack of resources in public institutions responsible for guaranteeing the right to an identity.  

• Monitoring and ensuring the implementation of policy and legislation related to UBR

This is under development as the new law has not yet come into effect.

• Creating incentives to increase the demand for birth registration 

Some local governments have organised identity fairs where fines for the parents are waived and free certificates are provided. These documents are needed to start judicial identity processes. Plan has facilitated transportation to fairs, and the office of the Attorney General of the state has provided services for participants. Other local governments have reached the most isolated communities to register children and adolescents at no cost.  

• Waiver/reduction of costs

Waiver of costs has depended on the initiative and willingness of local governments.  

The integral protection of children and adolescents law approved in April 2009, to come into effect one year later, includes an article that waives registration costs.  

• Partnerships, coordination, cooperation, alliances and coalitions

The institutions taking part in COSEDINS have joined efforts and resources for activities in different areas, for example, campaigns, legal clinics, identity fairs, training, advisory and support.

• Community awareness

Trained local leaders are sharing their knowledge and guiding families who have not registered their children’s births.   

• Ownership and sustainability (Have the duty-bearers, the state, taken responsibility? How have rights-holders, communities, and civil society been involved to ensure sustainability?)

State institutions have assumed their role as duty-bearers. 

• The integration of the issue of birth registration with other programmes such as maternal health

Vital records offices have been installed in maternity hospitals in the capital city, and a new programme for children up to five years old has been included.  

• Registering the most marginalised and hard to reach communities  (ethnic minorities, nomadic groups, orphans, street children, migrants and refugees etc)

Plan has made bilateral coordination efforts to reach rural and isolated communities with birth registration activities.   

• Tackling the related issues of migration, nationality and statelessness

Migration of children to El Salvador is minimal. 

• Linking birth registration to other children’s rights, such as increased access to health, education, inheritance rights and protection from trafficking, child labour etc

A birth certificate is no longer required to access health and education, but it is essential for inheritance rights and to leave the country.   

• Involving children in the UBR campaign

Adolescents have contributed to its creative part. 

Good practice

Legal assistance clinics have been an example of good practice, and the results have been positive as the clinics involve a range of institutions. Plan calls on families with non-registered children to go to the vital records office, mobilises and supports the families, and legal assistance is provided by different bodies. If a family meets the requirements, the case is referred to the mayor where the office handles the case and registers the child, waiving any costs. If the child has not been registered for more than five years, it is necessary to take the case to court whereby it is submitted to the office of the attorney general who will then represent the family – this is a long and complicated process.  

Challenges, gaps and barriers

• The lack of consensus in the Legislative Assembly to approve the bill for the reform of the family status registration transitory law.   
• Vital record officials in 262 municipalities in the country do not apply standardised criteria when dealing with birth registration cases.  
• Insufficient budget allocation to develop action to promote child registration or to reduce the gap.   
• The law imposes fines for late registration, and the amount increases over time. When the child is older than five years, the case is sent to court, which means significant costs to fulfil requirements such as appearing in front of judge with proofs, and the need to pay an attorney for legal advice.  
• The lack of a country situation assessment of birth registration gaps.  

National level recommendations 

Plan has already made some important contributions as part of COSEDINS, and has participated in the consultative committee that worked with the committee responsible for writing the integral protection of children and adolescents law, which comes into effect in April 2010. 

Proposals for law reform (family status registration transitory law) have been developed and promoted within COSEDINS although we are still waiting for these to be approved.  

Future activities 

• Permanent training and education for vital records officers in 262 municipalities. 
• Mass dissemination of information on the right to an identity  
• Influencing legal reforms to ensure the new child protection law comes into effect.  
• Developing a national assessment study of child registration gaps.  

Do you have any high-profile supporters of Plan’s UBR campaign? 

Currently, Plan and UNICEF have funded activities related to this topic, for example - events, an advertising campaign, reproduction of materials, training events, equipment for vital records offices.