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This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Birth Registration
Uganda
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Uganda
Birth Registration
Specific Situations
Specific Situations
Foundling
Does the law specify the process and responsibilities for registering the birth of a child who was abandoned and whose parents are not known?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The UN guidance recommends that legislation clearly identify the person or head of institution assuming custody of infant notify the registrar providing information regarding date and place of finding, sex and approximate birth date of child, name and address of person/institution reporting finding and any other information requested by registrar. The entry should be marked as "foundling" (or similar) and information about parentage left blank. If child is later identified, the foundling registration should be voided and placed under seal To avoid statelessness, foundlings who are discovered in the territory should be considered to have parents possessing nationality of that State, unless there is proof to the contrary
The Ugandan Constitution provides that a child of unknown parents found in Uganda who is under age five is presumed to be a citizen of Uganda by birth. The Registration of Persons Act states that any person who finds a child whose parents are unknown, or any person who is taking care of such a child, must immediately report the situation to the nearest police station or health center. The person in charge of that police station or health center is then responsible for notification of the child's particulars to the registration officer in the registration area where the child was found. The Registration of Persons Regulations set out a contradictory procedure, placing the responsibility to notify the birth on the person who finds a child whose parents are unknown or is taking care of such a child – after making a report at the police station nearest to where the child was found and obtaining a police report stating the circumstances.
Does the law provide for a third sex marker option or a sex-neutral marker at birth registration?
No, the law only provides for registration of sex as male or female
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Issuing a birth certificate with an assigned male or female sex at birth can have a profound impact on the rights of intersex people. UN guidelines recommend that States consider allowing a sex-neutral option at birth registration such as "unclear", "unknown" or "other", alongside "Male" and "Female". Some states have considered removing sex markers from birth certificates.
The law makes no provision for a third sex marker option or a sex-neutral marker at birth registration. However, the parents or guardian of a child born intersex (referred to in the law as “a hermaphrodite”) may apply to update the sex of the child after an operation. The application must include certification from a medical doctor, and the change must be approved by the Executive Director of the National Identification and Registration Authority. The Act mentions a prescribed fee, but none appears to have been imposed.
Does the law clearly state the process for amending birth registrations in adoption cases?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Laws should contain clear provisions for amending records, and dealing with adoptions or other changed circumstances. Who may request or apply for an amendment or modification of a record, should be specified. Birth registration should be available to all residents of a country who adopt a child from abroad. This is particularly important in order to obtain identity credentials
The registration officer is required to maintain an adopted children register containing the particulars of adoptions made in terms of the Children Act, which covers both domestic adoptions and inter-country adoptions (limited to situations where a person who is not a citizen of Uganda is allowed to adopt a Ugandan child in exceptional circumstances). This register must contain the name of adopted child (as stated in the adoption order), the child’s sex, the full name, address and occupation of the adopter(s), the child’s date and country of birth, the date of the adoption order and a description of the court that issued it. The standard form for adoption orders directs the registrar of births and deaths to enter this information in the adopted children register. It also directs the registrar of births and deaths to mark the child’s birth entry in the register of births, as “adopted”. There are no other directions on amendments to the birth record of an adopted child, or on record-keeping in respect of adoptions of children born outside Uganda. However, the Act states that a child who has been entered in the register of births and issued with a birth certificate shall be issued with another birth certificate upon adoption – implying that the identification of the parents on the birth certificate is to be amended. The law does not make any specific provision for changing the name of a child in the course of an adoption, so the general name change procedures may apply (see question on Amendments).
Does the law clearly state the process for amending birth registrations in surrogacy cases?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
There are two general processes for surrogacy. 1) the original birth certificate has the names of the surrogate parents (no amendment required). 2) the birth is registered under the name of the gestational mother, and then is amended through an adoption process to have the names of the surrogates.
