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Disclaimer / Limitations
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
Universal Coverage and Definition
Universal Coverage and Definition
Universal Coverage and Definition
Is birth registration available and compulsory for all births occurring within the country's jurisdiction?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The law should provide that registration is available to, and compulsory for, all births occurring in every geographical area and for every population group in the country. Examples of possible discriminations are: sex; race ethnicity, religion or population group; marital status; nationality, citizenship, residency or refugee/asylum status; or any other characteristic such as prisoners or persons with disabilities
All births that occur in the country – including births to refugees, undocumented migrants, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, persons of undetermined nationality and members of nomadic peoples – must be registered in the civil registration system. Where necessary, legislation should include specific provisions to guarantee the registration of these populations regardless of whether the person has legal residency status.
The Constitution and the Children Act make the registration of all births occurring in Uganda compulsory, and the Refugees Act states that refugees must receive at least the same treatment accorded to aliens under the Constitution and any other law in force in Uganda. Section 28 of the Registration of Persons Act states that registration of every birth within Uganda is compulsory, and this is echoed in several of the regulations issued in terms of the Act.
However, Section 1(2) of the Registration of Persons Act states that it excludes certain categories of persons from its coverage: (a) persons who are not resident in Uganda and persons visiting Uganda for less than 90 days; and (b) refugees.
In practice, children born to non-citizens, refugees and stateless persons are included in the register of births.
Is birth registration or reporting available for children born to citizens residing abroad?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
When a child is born to parents who are residing outside their country of citizenship, the country in which the birth occurred has an obligation to register the birth and issue a birth certificate. While the home country of the parents will not issue a new birth certificate, there should be a process by which the parents report the birth to the parents’ home country. This is important for purposes of establishing citizenship and receiving a passport for the child. The law should provide a process for citizens temporarily residing abroad to report the birth of a child to the registrar (or the passport agency). This is usually facilitated by a country’s embassies and consulates.
The law makes provision for the registration of births of children born outside Uganda where their parent or guardian is a citizen of Uganda. The notification can be done at a Uganda Mission or at other locations outside Uganda designated as registration centers by the National Identification and Registration Authority after consultation with the Minister responsible for foreign affairs.
Does the law provide a clear definition of live birth? If yes, does the definition accord with international guidelines?
No live birth is not defined by law
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The provision of clear definitions in the law is an important tool to ensure the continuous and permanent recording of vital events in all areas. Live birth is defined as "The complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such separation, breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or any definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached."
No definition of “birth” or “live birth” appears in the Registration of Persons Act or its subsidiary enactments, and none has been located in any other Ugandan legal instruments available to the reviewer.
