Israel

In 2013, the CRC expressed concern about reported cases of migrant families in Israel being forced to sign ‘voluntary’ return declarations to be able to obtain official birth certificates. The CRC made it clear that issuance of birth certificates should in no way be made conditional on the signing of ‘voluntary’ return declarations. African asylum seekers began arriving en masse, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, between 2007 and 2012. Israel has responded to their presence by defining them as ‘infiltrators’ which enables the state to enforce harsher legal treatment.

In 2022, Israel reported to the CRC that when submitting a notice of live birth to the Ministry of Interior (MoI) to receive an “Affirmation of Birth in Israel – Replication of Notice of Live Birth”, foreign residents are asked to sign a declaration that they are aware that the Affirmation of Birth in Israel document supplied by the MoI is not to be construed as agreement to their continued stay in Israel.