Free birth certificates sought

Free birth certificates sought

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) said on Thursday children in Indonesia should be given free birth certificates by the government.

Unicef representative to Indonesia Anthony Kennedy said that a birth certificate, the first right protected by any country, was an important document for people to deal with various affairs in their life.

Puwanta Iskandar, Unicef representative in Makassar, praised several regencies in South Sulawesi who had given free birth certificates to children.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) stated that only 30 percent of the country's population possessed birth certificates.

Indonesia ranks among the 19 worse countries where people do not have birth certificates. --Antara