Guatemalans Not
Declaring Children
At least 18 percent of
the Guatemalan children
under five are not
legally registered,
mostly in rural areas,
according to a UN
Children's Fund report.
Abject poverty,
exclusion, and ignorance
are factors that keep
parents from registering
their children,
depriving them of an
identity, UNICEF
official Justo Solorzano
asserted.
When a child is born in
Guatemala, a certificate
is given to the parents
for them to go to the
nearest municipality to
register the new birth.
However, many cases
entail transportation
and food expenses, and
could take a whole
working day, something
that some parents cannot
do.
New births at home are
even more serious, but
are very common in the
countryside, because
parents do not have any
document to register
their parenthood.
According to the UNICEF,
besides violating the
rights to identity, a
name, and nationality,
unregistered children
cannot attend school,
receive medical
assistance in a
hospital, and will not
be able to apply for a
job when they are grown
ups.
The solution is not
complicated, but
requires a state policy
to study civil
registration, create
facilities to register
parents and for them to
do the same with their
children later,
Solorzano asserted.
Guatemala, Bolivia, and
Haiti are the countries
where this problem
exists in the largest
proportion, according to
a UNICEF study. |
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