A/HRC/RES/19/9
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
3 April 2012
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Nineteenth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council*
19/9
Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere
as a person before the law
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United
Nations,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, in which the
Assembly established the Human Rights Council,
Reaffirming the human right of everyone to be recognized everywhere as a person
before the law, which is enshrined in, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other relevant international instruments,
Recalling the obligation of States to register all children immediately after birth as
provided for in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on
the Rights of the Child and other relevant international instruments,
Recalling also resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Human Rights
Council in which they called upon States to ensure the registration of all children
immediately after birth, the most recent being Assembly resolution 65/197 of 21 December
2010 and Council resolution 16/12 of 24 March 2011,
Recognizing the importance of birth registration, including late birth registration, as
a means for providing an official record of the existence of a person and the recognition of
that individual as a person before the law; expressing concern that unregistered individuals
have limited or no access to services and enjoyment of all the rights to which they are
entitled; also taking into consideration that persons without birth registration may be
*
GE.12-12741
The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of
the Council on its nineteenth session (A/HRC/19/2), chap. I.