Namibia

In Namibia, some civil registrars refuse to issue birth certificates to single mothers. Birth registration is blocked for children born to sex workers in border regions and undocumented migrant mothers. There is an expectation that children have both a mother and a father, so in situations where the father is unknown some civil registrars have refused to register the child. Katima Mulilo is a border region and transit zone for truckers where many women work as sex workers. Similarly, in the Caprivi Strip, where people of many different tribes and languages circulate, many women living in informal settlements of Katima Mulilo Town make a living as sex workers. A lot of children are born fatherless, and cannot be registered. Multiply marginalized and living in poverty, these women may be among the least likely to register the birth of a child. The CRC (2012) and the UPR (2016) called upon Namibia to provide all children with birth certificates without any discrimination. The CRC (2024) expressed concern about barriers to birth registration faced by children in disadvantaged situations, and recommended that Namibia strengthen its efforts to achieve universal birth registration.