Birth Registration Is A Right.

This problem is deeply grounded in specific, persistent realities.

Even in Mexico, where nationwide registration coverage is high at nearly 98%, significant challenges persist. In 2015, for example, almost half (45.7%) of children aged 0-60 days were not registered opportunely. Nearly one million people of all ages in Mexico still lack birth registration, and alarmingly, six out of ten of these individuals are children or adolescents.

The denial of identity is perpetuated by formidable obstacles that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable. These unjust barriers, deeply grounded in systemic realities, create profound challenges for families:

• Administrative Hurdles: Complex, cumbersome processes and difficulty in obtaining necessary documents are significant obstacles. In fact, in half of 45 countries with available data, a majority of mothers or caregivers of unregistered children lack fundamental knowledge of how to register a child's birth.

• Financial Barriers: The burden of high fees for registration or obtaining a birth certificate tragically excludes millions. Globally, children from the poorest 20% of households are one-quarter less likely to have their births registered than their richest counterparts. This challenge is immense, with approximately 65 million unregistered children under age 5 living in sub-Saharan African countries alone, where fees are associated with birth registration.

• Geographic Distance and Opportunity Cost: For many, the simple act of registration becomes a formidable journey. Long distances to civil registry facilities and the time required for procedures create substantial, often insurmountable, challenges, particularly for families in remote areas. Children living in urban areas are about 30% more likely to be registered than their rural counterparts, highlighting the profound impact of accessibility.

The most severe impacts of this problem fall upon those already marginalized. The lack of birth registration is tragically ten times higher for indigenous communities in Mexico than for the rest of the national population. In states like Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero, particularly within rural and highly marginalized municipalities, communities display immense resilience in the face of the greatest challenges to universal and timely registration. For instance, in Chiapas, a stark 23.2% of indigenous language speakers lack a birth certificate. The profound vulnerability of children whose parents migrate or are refugees, often facing statelessness without crucial birth registration, further exacerbates this crisis.

This is the profound problem Inalienable exists to confront: a global injustice that denies millions their most fundamental right. It is a challenge demanding heroic resolve, grounded in understanding the intricate legal and lived realities that perpetuate it. Until every life is formally recognized, the promise of true equity and protection for all remains unfulfilled.