Legislation and Public Policies in

Transcription

1 Legislation and Public Policies in Relation to Birth Registration LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN CONFERENCE ON THE RIGHT TO IDENTITY AND BIRTH REGISTRATION Presenter/panelist: Dr. Patricia Holness Registrar General and Deputy Keeper of the Records Jamaica September 21, 2011

2 Country Profile Jamaica is the largest English speaking island in the Caribbean and the third largest Caribbean island. The country is divided in three (3) counties and fourteen (14) parishes. Jamaica has a population of 2.7 million with an annual growth rate of 0.5%.

3 Background Registrar General s Department (RGD) The RGD was first established 1879 in Jamaica s old capital Spanish Town The only Agency responsible for civil registration Compulsory registration began in Prior to this all registers containing transcripts of births, baptisms, marriages and deaths were kept by the Church of England dating back to All church records now with the RGD

4 Background Registrar General s Department (RGD) 330 Registrars cover all the island There are over 30 statutes governing the agency and over 70 million records maintained dating back to the 1660s.

5 Became an Executive Agency in April 1999 Delegated authority from the Governor General for decisions of Finance and Human Resource Management Since April 2007 fully self financing through fees and other fund raising activities Annual Income moved from US$86,200 in 1996/1997 to US$689,600 in 2010/11 Use of income from non-core activities

6 Status of Civil Registration Digitalization of Civil Registration Data 1993 to % Earlier years between 20-40% done Need to conduct digitalization for earlier years 111 years of Electronic indices

7 Status of Civil Registration - births Births Approximately 44,000 births each year 98% of all births occur in formal birthing centres Parents required under law to report the event of birth within five days to the local district registrars of the RGD Now Registrars are at the bedside in public and private hospitals, every day of the week from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Prior to Civil Bedside Registration (CBR) Some parents did not name the infant in hospital nor return early to name the child Percentage of Fathers adding their particulars to a child s record moved from under 30% in 1996 to over 80% in 2011

8 Status of Civil Registration-births Civil Bedside Registration (CBR) since January 1, % of all births occurring in private and public institutions are fully registered within two (2) days At August 2011 over 171,000 first free birth certificates issued since All children four years and under (born since January 2007 and registered with a name) have a first free birth certificate The then Most Hon Prime Minister Portia Simpson issues on Jan 1, 2007 the first CBR birth certificate to the first Parents For 2007

9 Social Inclusion The registration of vital events is fundamental to the social inclusion of the Jamaican population in obtaining documentary evidence to allow access to: a passport, tax registration number, national insurance number, pension and other social benefits estate settlement

10 Public Policy Civil registration plays a vital role in national development and planning Civil registration assists Policy Makers and other Government Entities in creating health and education policies, calculating longevity of its population and Classifying diseases which cause deaths Solving criminal cases

11 Public Policy and Civil Registration These Public Policy ventures will improve the welfare of citizens National Identification Systems Joined up Government Closing the gap by digitalizing civil registration data for all years 1879 to 1992 Access for decision-makers Mothers naming fathers at the civil bedside registration (CBR) Fathers will have opportunity to respond Creation of the Vital Statistics Commission Linking all stakeholders in the CR process Creation of National Data Sharing Policy Death certificates to improve Probate administration Propertied yet poor Broadband ring around the island accessible by CR sites Crime Observatory Initiative Analysis of causes of deaths

12 Status of Public Policy and Civil Registration Public Policy Initiating and formalizing a Civil Registration Network which includes Faith-based organizations NGOs Government stakeholders Private sector stakeholders Academia

13 Memorandum of Understanding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the RGD in 2010/11 for funding the issue of birth certificates to poor underserved communities: Ministry of Labour and Social Security US$116,000 Providing 16,600 birth certificates UNICEF US$100,000 Holding 14 registration fairs across the island Providing 6,000 birth certificates Jamaica Social Investment Fund over US$60,000 Providing 8,000 birth certificates Ministry of Local Government over US$14,000 Providing 2,000 birth certificates

14 Jamaica Civil Registration Network Faith-based Organizations 6 Umbrella groups Churches have a proven ability to reach the poor and destitute Academia Population studies Gender studies NGOs Hear the Children s cry Jamaicans for justice Government stakeholders Women centres Police Social services Health education Private sector stakeholders DNA laboratories Security firms

15 Civil Registration Links to Public Policy Education Health Housing Genealogical Research Civil Registration Wills & Probates National and Social Benefit Programmes

16 Legislation Process need to shorten the time taken to complete legislative changes Public consultations Drafting instructions need to examine other legislations which may conflict with the new legislation Bill Act-action Registrar Generals should be consistently vigilant in identifying legislation not in keeping with current improved practices Exclude detail operations from legislation Registrar Generals should be able to identify when legislative changes are needed to change the status quo and improve overall efficiency of the system. Definition of birth being included in revised legislation Aim at making the language more user friendly

17 Legislation addresses Timeliness the minimum period of time within which civil registration should happen after the occurrence of the vital event Data to be collected details of what information is to be collected during registration must be clearly stated Methodology the procedure for registering events should be stated. Qualification person (s) eligible to inform the registration process Sanctions The sanctions for deviating from methodology should be stated also it should be possible to upgrade these through regulations

18 Challenges faced and solutions possible Challenges faced Global downturn in economy limits access to funding Lack of Credible analysis of countries CR status in the international community Records and information management principles not consistently applied Credibility of data from different sources within countries Legislative change process takes far too long Major stakeholders for Public Policy unaware of the wealth and relevance of CR data to legislation and public policy Absence or low level of effective lobbying Solutions Possible Use shared technology International audit of countries Train and mentor users Data should not be published unless gaps and inconsistencies are identified and/or cleared Create a bank of attorneys from the undergraduate law schools to consistently treat this topic Renewed public education at the highest level and effectively show the empirical data on impact Use the Civil Registration Network

19 THANK YOU