Tribratanews.polri.go.id - Deputy for Fulfillment of Children’s Rights at the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA), Agustina Erni said that a birth certificate is a children’s civil rights that must be fulfilled. This was conveyed by Erni in the Talkshow with the theme ‘Is a Birth Certificate Important?’ which was held by KemenPPPA on Saturday (26/3).
“Children’s rights are part of human rights. This is stated in Article 1 of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection which states that children’s rights are part of human rights that must be guaranteed, protected, and fulfilled by parents, families, communities, the State, Government, and Regional Governments. If the child is not registered and is not recognized as an Indonesian citizen, then he or she cannot access all programs by the government,” explained the Deputy for Child Rights Fulfillment at the Ministry of PPPA.
Furthermore, the Deputy for Fulfillment of Children’s Rights KemenPPPA stated that the Indonesian government is committed to fulfill all basic rights of children by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child through Presidential Decree No. 36/1990.
“If we look at it, the number of children has reached a third of our total population , so their future will greatly affect the progress of this nation in the future. In fulfilling children’s rights, we refer to the 5 clusters of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely (1) civil rights and freedoms; (2) family environment and alternative care; (3) basic health and well-being; (4) education and play-time, and cultural activities; and (5) special protection. These five clusters are what we need to work on together,” explained the Deputy for Fulfillment of Children’s Rights KemenPPPA.
On the same occasion, the Assistant Deputy for Civil Rights Fulfillment, Information, Child Participation KemenPPPA, Endah Sri Rejeki said, the rate of birth certificate ownership in Indonesia has increased. However, there are still several children who have not received it yet. Therefore, the Government, the Children’s Forum, and the wider community must work together to help Indonesian children get their civil rights. The reason is, population documents such as birth certificates are the one of the core requirements in getting the services from the state.
“If the children does not have the birth certificate, especially for the less fortunate ones, they are at a huge risk for being the victims of identity manipulation by irresponsible people. These children are vulnerable to being trapped in cases of human trafficking, or being the victims of the child labor, or forced to married underage. Not to mention the risk of difficulties in obtaining public services,” said the Assistant Deputy for Civil Rights Fulfillment, Information and Child Participation at the Ministry of PPPA.
The Associate Expert Policy Analyst of the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Sakaria explained, a birth certificate is authentic evidence of a person’s identity, and currently the ownership coverage is approaching 97 percent of the total number of children in Indonesia. “Birth certificates are important for everyone. A child who does not have a birth certificate is legally de jure considered non-existent,” he added.
Sakaria also agreed that children who do not have birth certificates will find it difficult to access public facilities. “The impact is very huge if a child does not have a birth certificate, such as difficulty in accessing public facilities, medical treatment, attending school, applying for a passport, and so on. The resident documents, including birth certificates, are not basic services, but the basis for obtaining all services,” concluded Sakaria.
Based on the parents’ perspective, the Co-Founder of Parentalk.id, Nucha Bachri said, although the birth certificate and Child Identity Card (KIA) are often underestimated by parents, Nucha agrees that these two documents are important things to have and need to be prepared before the birth of a child.
“Birth certificates and MCH are important parts that we need to have at home. It is also important for us to know that birth certificates and MCH are part of the children’s rights. So children’s rights are not only playing and learning as we know so far. The child’s Birth Ceritificate or KIA has many usefulness, although it seems quite ‘unseen’,” said Nucha.
