Today the CRVS team in the Statistics Division is saying farewell to someone who made up a vital part of our operations. Hong Pum Chung, otherwise known as HP to his friends and colleagues, will be leaving UN ESCAP and heading for the Peacekeeping Forces situated in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Speaking on behalf of the CRVS team, HP's contribution to developing ESCAP's regional CRVS activities was absolutely critical and his impact will continue being felt for quite some time. Thank you HP and we all wish you well in your new venture. For those partners and countries communicating directly with HP, please direct all emails to [email protected] and our team will respond accordingly. For any questions about this transition, please do not hesitate to contact the CRVS team at either the email above or call +66 2288 2409. 

The non-profit Population Reference Bureau (PRB) recently released its 2018 World Population Data Sheet which highlights key, global population projections. Produced annually since 1962, the 2018 version estimates that the global population will climb 2.3 billion by 2050 despite a declining, worldwide total fertility rate. The PRB Data Sheet specifically emphasizes the global “shift toward an older age structure” and what this will mean for countries moving forward. For example, the PRB’s analysis shows that “By 2050, 82 countries are projected to have at least 20 percent of their population ages 65 and over, up from 13 countries today”. And although the PRB Data Sheet stresses the importance of aging populations, the insights do not stop there. The Data Sheet also includes a lesson plan for teachers, an interactive microsite open for exploration and even a media toolkit with key messages, social media posts and infographics to assist organizations in communicating the findings on their own platforms.

By now, everyone reading this article is already aware that former Secretary-General Kofi Annan passed away on 18 August 2018 in Bern, Switzerland. However, what readers may not know, or immediately recall, is that Mr. Annan was an early supporter of birth registration as a central means for protecting children. Specifically, he made his views clear in the 2001 publication of We the Children, by articulating that: "During the 1990s, there was growing awareness of the importance of prompt birth registration as an essential means of protecting a child’s right to identity, as well as respect for other child rights. Failure to register births promptly has been linked to the trafficking of babies. The lack of a birth certificate may prevent a child from receiving health care, nutritional supplements and social assistance, and from being enrolled in school. Later in childhood, identity documents help protect children against early marriage, child labour, premature enlistment in the armed forces or, if accused of a crime, prosecution as an adult". According to UNICEF, at the time of publication, We the Children was considered “a landmark review of the progress made in meeting the commitments of the 1990 World Summit for Children”. The historical importance of this publication is amplified when considering that the 1990 Summit was, also at the time, the “largest gathering of world leaders in history” and was the driving force behind national commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Notably, the CRC is still the most widely adopted international human rights instrument. With that in mind, the CRVS team in the Statistics Division of UN ESCAP wanted to take this opportunity to remind readers of Mr. Annan's contributions to our collective goals of protecting children by highlighting his foresight on this important issue, as well as his tireless work on behalf of human rights everywhere. 

The 1st Meeting of the Civil Registration Professionals of South Asia occurred between 24 - 25 July in Kathmandu, Nepal. Co-organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office for South Asia (UNICEF-ROSA) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP), the meeting brought together 22 experts from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to review areas of common interest, build bridges for future collaboration and share ideas for approaching complex CRVS issues. Most importantly, the meeting was also designed to "consider the creation of an informal network of professionals who work in civil registration in the eight South Asian countries". Conclusions and recommendations from the meeting can be found on the event's page here.