Time to break intergenerational disadvantage in birth registrations
Helping to make it easier to obtain a birth certificate is a key part of our Realising Rights strategy because birth registration protects the fundamental right of children to have their identity recognised. But there are many obstacles to making birth certificates affordable and accessible for all.
On 11-12 December, AIPJ, together with PEKKA, hosted a conference to examine implementing the recently issued Supreme Court Circular letter on a collective process for the processing of birth certificate cases - SEMA 6/2012 (for more details about this see our website www.aipj.or.idunder success stories.)
Participants viewed a short film produced by PEKKA that highlighted some of the difficulties faced by families, especially in remote areas. Even a 60 000 IDR fee is prohibitive for many Indonesians, especially those with several children, given the cost of travel to court locations.
A discussion panel with senior members from the General Courts, Religious Courts, Ministry of Home Affairs, and CSOs, fielded comments and questions about the demand for marriage and birth certificates and how the courts and administrations could make it easier to obtain them.
One of the obstacles was the need for parents to have a marriage certificate before they can register their children, as many people marrywith a religious ceremony but do not formally register their marriage. Ibu Shanti, panelist from the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that data was needed to determine which areas are most affected, as this would help allocate resources. “Should we prioritise the cases where the parents already have marriage certificates?” she asked the audience. Many families have been uncertified for generations, and we need to understand the factors behind this omission.”
Participants agreed that better coordination and sharing of information between institutions would help ease the burden on families, especially when their children were born in other locations. Currently they are obliged to register children where they were born, which may be several provinces away from where they currently dwell.
Others felt the legal system could be more flexible to accommodate the needs of citizens, and the new one stop service was a positive step in the right direction.
AIPJ is currently designing a comprehensive, long term program to assist the most vulnerable women and children to obtain legal identity documents such as birth, marriage, or divorce certificates. These legal identity documents will assist their access to a range of public services, including social assistance programs.
