Second informal consultation on how UN mechanisms can work together more effectively to protect the child’s right to identity

On 28 September, the Identity Rights Working Group and Global Alliance to End Statelessness held its second informal consultation on optimising UN mechanisms to better preserve the child’s right to identity.  Children’s identity rights are already protected across the CRC, the statelessness conventions, ICCPR, CEDAW, CMW and the CED, as well as through Human Rights Council resolutions and the work of different UN special procedures. Yet in practice, birth registration, nationality and family relations are still too often addressed in silos, if at all.

The discussions were rich including Permanent Missions of Austria, Chile, Colombia, Iceland, Switzerland and Uruguay. Philip D. Jaffé, Vice-Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and Sabrina Gahar, member of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers and Chair of the ACERWC, brought valuable treaty body perspectives to the discussion. Representatives from Global Alliance to End Statelessness, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, European Network on Statelessness, The Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, Global Survivors Fund, International Commission on Civil Status (ICCS), Family for Every Child, ATD Fourth World participated in the preparation/or meeting.

The discussions led to a decision to work on a joint statement as a shorter-term initiative and over the longer term, the potential for a Joint General Comment on the child’s right to identity involving interested treaty bodies.