AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - More than half of African children are "non-existent"

Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) – They are born, live, die, but do not appear to have ever lived: more than half of African children are still not registered in the list at the time of birth and thus are devoid of any right, resulting as "non-existent " citizens . This is what emerged in the II Conference on Civil Registry, being held in Durban, South Africa, organized by the Children's Fund for the United Nations (UNICEF). According to the calculations made in a poor rural area, where people live on less than $ 1 a day, a resident would have to pay $ 25 to register the birth of their child in an urban center and obtain the certificate. In the twenty-first century this legacy of colonialism that involves the recognition of the unborn and deaths still survives. Among other risks of this serious shortcoming, if minors are arrested, they are treated according to the laws that is applied to adults, since there are no documents certifying their age. The phenomenon has been recognized as being particularly serious in Somalia, Southern Sudan and Uganda. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 05/09/2012)