Timeline of Key Events

Plan International and the NGO Committee for UNICEF South East Asia - Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam

This regional project included implementation programs in the three priority countries. It also convened major events, such as the Asian Civil Registrars General Convention (see below), and generated country papers on the state of birth registration for countries across Asia (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam). It led to a joint effort with UNICEF to organize regional workshops on birth registration in Asia, Africa, and Latin America from 2001-2010, as well as international advocacy to raise the profile of birth registration on the UN agenda both at the Commission on Human Rights and at the first PrepCom for the UNGA Special Session on Children in 2001.

UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

Member states adopted the Cairo Declaration, resolving to achieve 100% registration of all under 18 years of age by the end of December 2002.

UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

Member states adopted the Cairo Declaration, resolving to achieve 100% registration of all under 18 years of age by the end of December 2002.

United Nations - South Africa

The conference declaration recognizes the issues of population under-registration and invisibility in national statistics as an international concern for marginalized groups. It urged States to take all possible measures to register and document racialized persons.

UNICEF and Plan International - Asuncion, Paraguay

Participants from 18 Latin American governments, Indigenous and Afro-descendant leaders, NGOs, and IOs recommended eliminating under-registration to improve public policies and guaranteeing the right to an identity for people in border regions and for migrant populations, among others.

UNICEF, IDB, Plan International, OAS, with the Electoral Tribunal of Panama and government of Korea - Panama City, Panama

The goal of the conference was to make progress on the elimination of under-registration in the region by 2015.

UNESCAP and WHO - Bangkok, Thailand

As requested by the Commission in its resolution 67/12, the secretariat convened the High-level Meeting on the Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok on 10 and 11 December 2012. The High-level Meeting was co-hosted with the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with an organizing committee comprising 18 other development partners and was attended by over 230 senior officials representing the health, civil registration and statistics sectors from 43 ESCAP member States, 3 non-ESCAP Member States and 22 development partners.

Government of Korea (Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs), the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank - Seoul, Korea

The main objective of the first International Identity Management (Id-M) Conference was to create synergies and disseminate specialized knowledge regarding the conceptual and practical complexities involved in modernizing civil identity and identification systems. The focus of the three-day event was on the role of identity management as a contributing factor to strengthen governability and improve public policies and services across the globe. These proceedings are meant to provide a condensed account of the presentations and discussions that took place at the conference.

Civil Registration Centre for Development, The Hague and the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research

At this colloquium social scientists and policy researchers examined the various forms of civil registration and identification currently used and introduced around the world. The conference aimed to map out a set of comparative questions that will frame research and support policy makers in designing the best possible recommendations for the states that must still confront the intractable difficulties of mass identity registration.

World Bank ID4D Initiative - Washington, DC and live stream

One-and-a-half billion people around the world can’t prove who they are. Without an ID, they face barriers doing everyday tasks such as opening a bank account, accessing social benefits, and getting health insurance. New technologies can help countries build robust and inclusive identification systems. The World Bank’s Chief Economist and panelists from governments and the private sector discuss how countries have developed identification systems to enable a range of key development outcomes.

ESCAP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN Women, WHO, World Bank Group, CDC Foundation, Pacific Community, Plan International, Vital Strategies, and World Vision International - UN Statistics Division, Bangkok, Thailand / Hybrid

The virtual event marked the midpoint in the Asia-Pacific CRVS Decade (2015 – 2024), the shared vision declared at the 1st Ministerial Conference on CRVS in 2014 to “Get Every One in the Picture” and ensure, by 2024, that all people in the region will benefit from universal and responsive civil registration and vital statistics. Outcomes included the adoption of the Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific to measure national progress.

Regional Steering Group for CRVS, ESCAP, Bloomberg Philanthropies, CDC Foundation, Child Rights Coalition Asia, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, IOM, Pacific Community, Plan International, Statistics Norway, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, Vital Strategies, WHO, World Bank, World Vision and Global Financing Facility - Bangkok, Thailand

This conference was part of the continued efforts to create comprehensive CRVS systems in the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific CRVS Decade was formally extended until 2030, as a part of the commitment to “Get Every One in the Picture” and ensure all are registered.