Laos

Impact of the universal birth registration campaign

There are no figures available for birth registration before the launch of the campaign, but the latest estimates are that 50% of the population are currently registered.

Government policy and practice towards birth registration 

The 2007 law on the protection of the rights and interests of children includes the right “to be registered at birth, have a first name and family name and to acquire a nationality.” There is no management or centralisation of registration data, which often stays at village level. With UNICEF funding, the government sent representatives from the Ministry of Public Security and National Statistics Centre to the 2006 Plan/UNICEF Asia UBR conference and to the previous 2003 conference, but no action has resulted as yet.

Universal birth rights campaign strategy

Plan Laos will continue to maintain contact with the relevant authorities to encourage the creation of a proper birth registration system and to offer establishment of such a system.