Some 29,000 children do not have birth certificates in Dominican Republic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Republic of the Dominican Republic, Unicef, and the Central Electoral Board (JCE) signed an agreement to provide birth certificates to children at birth in the country, where 29,000 children under 5 years of age lack this document.

The agreement entitled “Framework of inter-institutional cooperation for the timely and late registration of births in the Dominican Republic”, was signed at the National Palace in an act headed by President Luis Abinader.

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The initiative seeks to streamline the delegations of the Civil Status Offices located in hospitals and identify newborns to formally register them in the Civil Registry, according to the event.

According to data offered at the activity by the head of Strategic Projects and Special Programs of the Presidency (Propeep), José Leonel -Neney- Cabrera, 29,000 children under 5 years of age do not have a birth certificate, a situation that makes them prone to violence, exclusion, and discrimination said the Presidency in a press release.

Unicef’s representative in the country, Rosa Elcarte, described as historic the signing of the agreement to strengthen and promote timely registration and make progress with late civil registration.

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