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Children Right Groups Want New Gov’t To Recognize Birth Registration of Migrant and Conflict Affected Communities

Burma community based groups working on child protection issues met to press the new government to recognize birth registrations recorded on the Thai Burma border and among migrant communities in Thailand.

The Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Child Rights (CPPCR), a community group working on child protection issues hosted a workshop on 1st February in the Thai border town of Mae Sot.

The workshop discussed the issue of birth registration of children of migrate workers and conflicted affected communities. Workshop participants said that the issue needed to be recognized by the National League for Democracy, that will take government in April.

Saw Thar Win, a committee member of the CPPCR told to Karen News that, “We welcome the new government. It’s what we wanted. It has massive support of the people. We expect is that the new government will recognize these groups of children that were not recognized in the past. We hope that the new government will do more than the previous one for the protection of children and for the rights of children.”

At the workshop, Saw Thar Win said that the community groups agreed to press for recognition from the new government of an acceptable standard form and method for the birth registration that are issued by respective organizations or neighboring countries. The groups also agreed to create a stronger network for child rights protection.

The two-day workshop worked on policies on birth registration, rights for citizenship, rights for orphans and a policy for the protection of trafficked children.

Following discussions representatives agreed to put in place a stronger networking system for child protection organizations and develop papers on a nationwide level policy for child protection. It was also agreed to get recognition for birth registrations issued by border groups and neighboring countries from the new NLD government and to make birth registration more accessible in remote ethnic regions.

Attending the meeting were representatives from the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees, Save the Children, Mae Tao Clinic, the Karen Woman Organization and border based child protection organizations and community health organizations.

Naw Eh Tamwe Paw, from the KWO spoke to Karen News.

“Having a chance to discuss with civil society organizations from inside Burma and organizations from the border like this gave us information that there are areas that we can cooperate on in the future. The conditions [for children] will improve if we can implement these plans.”

CPPCR was formed by border based health groups and child rights and educational organizations in
2003 to work on child protection issues, especially child rights and the birth registration of migrant worker’s children.

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