II. PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD Identity, family relations and birth registration 13. Calls upon all States: (a) To continue to intensify efforts to ensure the registration of all children, irrespective of their status, immediately after birth, including by the consideration of simplified, expeditious and effective procedures; (b) To undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations, as recognized by law, without unlawful interference, and, where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity, to provide appropriate assistance and protection with a view to re-establishing speedily his or her identity; (c) To ensure as far as possible the right of the child to know and be cared for by his or her parents; to ensure that the child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when the competent authorities, subject to judicial review, determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures and giving all interested parties an opportunity to participate in the proceedings and make their views known, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child; such determination may be necessary in a particular case, such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents or one where the parents are living separately and a decision must be made as to the child’s place of residence; to respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child’s best interests; where such separation results from action initiated by a State, such as the detention, imprisonment, exile, deportation or death (including death arising from any cause while the person is in the custody of the State) of one or both parents of the child, that State shall, upon request, provide the parents, the child or, if appropriate, another member of the family with the essential information concerning the whereabouts of the absent member(s) of the family, unless the provision of the information would be detrimental to the well-being of the child; and, further, to ensure that the submission of such a request shall of itself entail no adverse consequences for the person(s) concerned; (d) To address cases of international abduction of children, bearing in mind that the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration, and encourages States to engage in multilateral and bilateral cooperation to ensure, inter alia, the return of the child to the country where he or she resided immediately before the removal or retention and, in this respect, to pay particular attention to cases of international abduction of children by one of their parents or other relatives; (e) To guarantee, to the extent consistent with each State’s obligations, the right of a child whose parents reside in different States to maintain on a regular basis, save in exceptional circumstances, personal relations and direct contacts with both parents by providing means of access and visitation in both States and by respecting the principle that both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of their children; page 5