ESCWA Publication: E/ESCWA/CL4.SIT/2021/TP.9
Country: Arab region
Publication Type: Working papers
Cluster: Statistics, Information Society and Technology
Focus Area: Statistics
Initiatives: Civil registration & vital statistics
SDGs: Agenda 2030
Keywords: Civil registration, Vital statistics, Social statistics, Demography, Population, Technological innovations
A strategic framework for improving civil registration and vital statistics systems in the Arab region for the period 2021-2025
March 2022
This document includes an overview of the status of civil records in the Arab region, and its effectiveness in producing vital statistics that contribute to planning development programmes and help monitoring and reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It tackles ways of developing civil registers, the role of technology in linking records electronically, the right to obtain legal identity, the role of Governments in the production and exchange of data, and the importance of international and regional support. It was prepared at the request of international and regional organizations and authorities working in the field of civil registration and vital statistics, with the aim of developing a strategic framework that will serve as a guideline for work and development in the field of civil registration and vital statistics in the Arab region during the period 2021-2025.
In its formulation, the strategy relied on reviewing relevant literature and publications and the direct communication with concerned authorities in the Arab countries, through a questionnaire. Interviews were also held with several representatives of Arab countries going through unfavorable conditions. The results of this survey indicated the challenges facing countries in the issues of electronic transformation; the completeness of birth and death registration, marriage and divorce data; and legal identities for vulnerable groups. On the other hand, it showed the Arab countries' compliance to support civil registry systems and to include them within their national plans aiming at completing the registers and linking them electronically to relevant authorities. The document concludes that it is important for ESCWA to play a leading role in disseminating this document at the regional level through its mechanisms and mobilizing resources to transform the results and contents of the strategic framework into a regional action plan for the period 2021-2025.
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This document includes an overview of the status of civil records in the Arab region, and its effectiveness in producing vital statistics that contribute to planning development programmes and help monitoring and reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It tackles ways of developing civil registers, the role of technology in linking records electronically, the right to obtain legal identity, the role of Governments in the production and exchange of data, and the importance of international and regional support. It was prepared at the request of international and regional organizations and authorities working in the field of civil registration and vital statistics, with the aim of developing a strategic framework that will serve as a guideline for work and development in the field of civil registration and vital statistics in the Arab region during the period 2021-2025.
In its formulation, the strategy relied on reviewing relevant literature and publications and the direct communication with concerned authorities in the Arab countries, through a questionnaire. Interviews were also held with several representatives of Arab countries going through unfavorable conditions. The results of this survey indicated the challenges facing countries in the issues of electronic transformation; the completeness of birth and death registration, marriage and divorce data; and legal identities for vulnerable groups. On the other hand, it showed the Arab countries' compliance to support civil registry systems and to include them within their national plans aiming at completing the registers and linking them electronically to relevant authorities. The document concludes that it is important for ESCWA to play a leading role in disseminating this document at the regional level through its mechanisms and mobilizing resources to transform the results and contents of the strategic framework into a regional action plan for the period 2021-2025.
