CRVS Legal and Regulatory Review Tools and Methodology Ashley Frederes Technical Advisor Bangkok, 30 January 2019

Importance of CRVS Legal Frameworks Significant potential benefits for: Governance & accountability Efficiency & effectiveness Legal status Human rights Reliable health data Aid effectiveness Demand for civil registration is low & must increase to achieve complete CRVS data CRVS systems are important as they have potential benefits for governance, health and documenting the legal status of individuals – among other things. In particular, there is evidence that countries with better-functioning CRVS systems have better health outcomes in terms of life expectancies. But demand for CRVS services in many countries is currently too low. And we can only address that by improving access and efficiency and by creating incentives to use CRVS services (for example by linking CRVS systems with other services like health and national IDs). Good CRVS data and increased demand are difficult to achieve without a well–conceived legal framework.

Health and Human Rights Implications

The Problem

The UN defines CRVS as the: Continuous Permanent Compulsory Universal recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events

But CRVS Laws tend to be: Continuously Contradictory Permanently Poorly-Written Compulsively Complicated Universally Unclear

Questions without clear answers Notification and Registration Can medical facilities notify vital events directly to a local or national registrar? Can facilities be required to do so? If a relative fails to notify a vital event, who has the legal duty to ensure it is registered?

Questions without clear answers Cause of Death Must a MCCOD be signed by a treating physician? Do these rules limit the use of verbal autopsy for legal or statistical purposes? Who has access to sensitive info collected? Can relatives seek info on COD of loved ones?

Questions without clear answers Who can access each data element? How is the information transmitted and stored? How is the information protected from hacking and destruction?

How can I untangle the mess?

The Legal Review Toolkit Which are covered by law? Which are covered by regulation? Where is there alignment and where are there gaps? If gaps, can they be quickly patched by the agencies, or are legislative or other processes required?

Structured review of the CRVS legal framework Includes review of all “laws”: includes any legally-binding measure, including constitutional provisions, legislation, regulations, decree, ministerial orders, official instructions to government agencies, employee manuals, and standard operating procedures for government officials, judicial orders, international treaties, and any other document with the force of law

Approach of tool Comparisons of CRVS legal framework to international best practice:

Structure of the tool Covers the following main areas and compares to 42 international best practices: Enabling environment Structure of civil registrar Technology & data security Key issues with registration of birth, death, and foetal death Key issues with certifying cause of death Production of vital statistics

Target audience Designed to be completed by lawyers with range of knowledge in CRVS Ultimate audience is heads of agencies who have authority to make structural changes Products used by implementers and technicians

Review Process Step 1: Read source documents and background information Step 2: Learn glossary of key terms Step 3: Collect all relevant laws using model research log Step 4: Upload all relevant laws to a central folder Step 5: Confirm laws are complete and up-to-date Step 6: Review laws against best practices Step 7: Draft and revise a final report ~6 months overall

Outcomes of Applying the Tool: Brainstorm possible solutions with stakeholders Divide solutions into those that require legislative changes and those that can be fixed with existing regulatory authority Amend legal framework

Application of Tool in D4H: Americas Brazil Colombia Ecuador Peru Africa Ghana Rwanda Tanzania Zambia South Asia Bangladesh India (Mumbai) Asia Cambodia Papua New Guinea Philippines Viet Nam

Example outcome: Tanzania Deterrents in relevant law leading to low birth registration rate D4H-CRVS support: Conducted a legal review and supporting the drafting of a bill according to international standards to simplify registration

2nd Edition of the Tool: Marriage, divorce, adoption, legitimation, recognition Integration with ID systems Data security, authentication, confidentiality tools for digitization Medical Legal and Coroner procedures Cross-border issues, on refugees and statelessness

Relationship to BPI Approach Legal Framework defines ‘current state’ ‘Future state’ may require legal change

Summary CRVS legal frameworks are outdated and present barriers to registration The legal frameworks form the foundation of the systems, their review and revision is essential but not sufficient to solve all issues with the systems: A good legal framework is the “skeleton” around which a well-functioning CRVS system is built

Thank you! https://www.vitalstrategies.org/publications/crvs-legal-regulatory-review/ vitalstrategies.org