Bangladesh

In 2018, Bangladesh introduced an online application for birth certificates which is now mandatory. There are no manual or paper application options available. The shift to the digital application system has made the process inaccessible for a large group of people. It introduced new barriers into a process that many people in Bangladesh already struggled to access, due to limited internet access and digital literacy. It also increased costs by making some populations reliant on intermediaries to help them with the process. For example, this impacted the Urdu speaking community. A 2023 joint CSO submission to the UPR recommended that Bangladesh ensure universal and free birth registration, particularly in remote areas and areas where minority communities live. It also recommended providing an alternate manual paper-based birth registration system for those who do not have access to digital registration and identification systems.