No child should be denied the right to be recorded in the civil registry, with or without both parents, the Minister for Local Government, Francis Kaboneka, has said. The minister was reacting to complaints regarding children who have not been registered because they have not produced identification of both parents. Most of the victims are those children whose fathers have disowned them or where the mother does not have proof of paternity. The minister made the remarks last Friday during a press conference organised to announce a massive civil registration exercise that is expected to go on for a month, starting on November 23. The exercise, which will be done at the sector level, will be carried out in conjunction with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion together with other partners, will encourage people to register births, deaths, adoption and divorces. This, officials said, will ensure accurate figures are captured to ease national planning, among other benefits. “Civil status registration is a prerequisite for any country’s development because the data available can be used to inform the right decisions when planning for different policies. Also, when someone is not registered on time, it becomes an inconvenience in future while looking for other services such as seeking a passport, claiming for pension benefits or processing a loan, among others. “That’s why we want everyone to get registered in time to avoid inconveniences that may come with these delays,” he said. To ease the registration process, the minister said they have partnered with the Ministry of Health to introduce a digital registration process so that births are immediately recorded at hospitals to ensure people do not have to go to local governments to access the service. Currently, Kaboneka said, new-borns are primarily recorded in hospitals and the parents are required to only go to the sector to authenticate the records sent in by the hospitals. He, however, said that the plan is to ensure the entire process it completed at the hospital level for purposes of convenience. “With up to 91 per cent of mothers currently giving birth in hospitals, we think it is a good step made to make birth registration on time,” Kaboneka said. Esperance Nyirasafari, the Minister for Gender and Family Promotion, added that birth registration can only be done for a person below 18. She said those in the Diaspora can get registered at the Rwandan embassies. Nyirasafari also noted that children born in prison will be registered at the district offices where the prison is located. Regarding the issue of children born out of wedlock, she said the mother of that child has the right to look for justice if the father denied the responsibility of fatherhood. “With tangible facts and DNA test results presented at the court, the father can be compelled to take responsibility for the baby,” she said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
