Pakistan: The dates that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) began issuing Child Registration Certificates to newly born children, by province and district
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Ottawa |
| Publication Date | 3 September 2003 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PAK41897.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Pakistan: The dates that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) began issuing Child Registration Certificates to newly born children, by province and district, 3 September 2003, PAK41897.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/485ba8762.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The issuance of the Child Registration Certificate by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is an initiative to replace what is known as "Form B" (Dawn 10 Jan. 2003), the manual birth registration system (ibid. 6 June 2002). The certificate includes the child's name, date of birth, place of birth, gender and registration number, the parents' names and their computerized national identity card numbers (Pakistan 2002). According to NADRA, under this initiative "[i]t is the responsibility of every Child's parents/guardian to register their children who are less than 18 years of age" (ibid.).
In its second periodic report, which was submitted on 19 January 2001 under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government of Pakistan stated that it was "considering computerizing the process of birth registration, so as to bring about accuracy, speed and efficiency in the system" (UN 11 Apr. 2003, para. 122). At that time, the government had only constituted the National Committee on the Registration of Child at Birth, which was mandated to "make suggestions for filling [in the] gaps in legislation," review existing laws and by-laws with a view to modernizing and bringing uniformity to them and devise a mechanism for "ensuring full and compulsory birth registration in the country" (ibid., para. 120).
On 6 June 2002, NADRA's director general for the province of Punjab, Brig Nadeem Qamar, stated that the computerized Child Registration Certificate would be introduced in June 2002 (Dawn 6 June 2002).
On 12 July 2002 and on 22 October 2002, Pakistan Press International (PPI) indicated that a pilot project on birth registration had been introduced and was running in four districts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP): Abbottabad, Mardan, Nowshera and Swabi.
On 10 January 2003, NADRA's chairman, Saleem Ahmad Moeen, stated that the issuance of the Child Registration Certificate "would be launched countrywide once all bugs were removed" and that a pilot project was "already working at NSRC [NADRA swift registration centres] in the Rawalpindi cantonment area" (Dawn 10 Jan. 2003).
On 26 February 2003, NADRA's media advisor, Jahanzeb Aziz, stated that a "pilot project has started at one of the swift centres at Islamabad" (ibid. 26 Feb. 2003).
According to a July 2003 news report published in The News, NADRA has launched a facility for the issuance of the Child Registration Certificate in Lahore city (6 July 2003).
Additional information on the dates that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) began issuing Child Registration Certificates to newly born children, by province and district, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Dawn [Karachi]. 26 February 2003. Jahanzeb Aziz. "Computerizing Form B."
_____. 10 January 2003. "Nadra Has Issued 18.3m ID Cards: Chairman."
_____. 6 June 2002. "New ID Cards Before Polls."
The News [Karachi]. 6 July 2003. Syed Ali Abedi. "Beset with a Huge Task."
Pakistan. 2002. National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). "Children Registration Certificate."
Pakistan Press International (PPI). 22 October 2002. "Experts: Foreign Experts Visit Birth Registration Project." (Asia Pulse/Dialog)
_____. 12 July 2002. "Workshop (Workshop on Birth Registration Starts in Abbottabad)." (Asia Pulse/Dialog)
United Nations (UN). 11 April 2003. Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Second Periodic Reports of States Parties Due in 1997: Pakistan. (CRC/C/65/Add.21)
Additional Sources Consulted
Dialog/WNC
High Commission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Ottawa
IRB Databases
National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Pakistan, did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.
Internet sites, including:
Amnesty International
BBC
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (2000-2002)
Eurasianet.org
European Country of Origin Information Network
High Commission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Ottawa
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Human Rights Watch
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
International Crisis Group (ICG)
Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Official Website
One World South Asia
PakTribune
SouthAsia.Net
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