More than 5,000 babies born to displaced people from Myanmar have received Thai birth certificates, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which hailed the move yesterday as an important step to prevent statelessness among a new generation of displaced people.
Birth registration started in nine temporary shelters on the Myanmar
border in September 2010, when the Civil Registration Act was
implemented. Under the law, all children born on Thai soil are entitled
to birth registration even if their parents are not Thai citizens.
Birth registration does not confer Thai nationality upon refugee children. But by establishing a legal record of where a refugee was born and who his or her parents are, the birth certificate is a key way to prove if someone can acquire nationality when he or she can eventually return home.
The government and the UN refugee agency have conducted a campaign at the shelters, encouraging the displaced people to register the birth of their children born in Thailand.
"We explained that birth registration may help their kids access education, health care and employment in the future and that it could protect them from things like statelessness, early marriage and trafficking," said Emily Bojovic, a UNHCR protection officer in one of the shelters at Tham Hin in Ratchaburi.
"We also explained that we don't know what the future holds and that this is a simple process that may help their kids later in life," Bojovic said. "Every parent wants to do the best for their kids, so even those who are not entirely sure why it is important are ensuring their kids are registered and receive a birth certificate."
The International Rescue Committee, an NGO, delivers babies in Tham Hin's clinic and sends the information to the district authorities. A few times a month, the district registration team comes to Tham Hin wearing T-shirts that read "Register Your Baby, Protect Your Child" to conduct birth registration and update family records.
With birth registration now a routine activity in the temporary shelters, district authorities and the UNHCR are starting to address the backlog of children born here in recent years.
Birth registration does not confer Thai nationality upon refugee children. But by establishing a legal record of where a refugee was born and who his or her parents are, the birth certificate is a key way to prove if someone can acquire nationality when he or she can eventually return home.
The government and the UN refugee agency have conducted a campaign at the shelters, encouraging the displaced people to register the birth of their children born in Thailand.
"We explained that birth registration may help their kids access education, health care and employment in the future and that it could protect them from things like statelessness, early marriage and trafficking," said Emily Bojovic, a UNHCR protection officer in one of the shelters at Tham Hin in Ratchaburi.
"We also explained that we don't know what the future holds and that this is a simple process that may help their kids later in life," Bojovic said. "Every parent wants to do the best for their kids, so even those who are not entirely sure why it is important are ensuring their kids are registered and receive a birth certificate."
The International Rescue Committee, an NGO, delivers babies in Tham Hin's clinic and sends the information to the district authorities. A few times a month, the district registration team comes to Tham Hin wearing T-shirts that read "Register Your Baby, Protect Your Child" to conduct birth registration and update family records.
With birth registration now a routine activity in the temporary shelters, district authorities and the UNHCR are starting to address the backlog of children born here in recent years.
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