According to the records of her school, Oishee’s birth date was 17 August 1996, which made her 17 years old at the time.8 However, the Detective Branch (DB) found Osihee’s date of birth to have been on 17 August 1994 from the records of a clinic where she was born.9 There began a debate as to whether Oishee should be tried as a child or an adult. Finally, medical examination showed that the age of Oishee Rahman was around 19 years, which meant that she was no longer a child and it was therefore decided that she would be tried by the regular Criminal Court.10 18. BIRTH REGISTRATION & RIGHT TO NAME AND IDENTITY The Birth Registration Act 2004 provides that the Registrar shall register the fact of birth of every natural person without distinction whatsoever as to religion, race, sex, colour etc. Registration of birth is to be completed within 45 days of birth of a child. The said Act also provides that before registration of birth the child has to be given a name. The Registrar shall not register the birth of a child unless it has a name. A child born as a consequence of a rape has the right to be known by the name of his or her parents.11 19. In Bangladesh the rate of registration of children under the age of five increased from 9.8 per cent in 2006 to 31 per cent in 2011.In 2009, an online Birth Registration Information System (BRIS) was established. Until 29 October 2014, BRIS captured more than 119 million birth records out of 160 million people.12 The figure was a combination of birth records migrated from manual registration books and new registration entries. 20. The BNHRC, however, has observed that the rate of registration of birth within the stipulated 45 days was quite low. According to BRIS data, only 1.4 per cent of children born between January and December 2013 had their birth registered within 45 days.13 But the rate of birth registration after 45 days is quite satisfactory. 21. The BNHRC observes that although there was no explicit bar in law with regard to the birth registration of the children whose father or mother was unknown or for children born out of wedlock or for refugee children, their special situation still needed to be addressed by the Government – which was one of the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its previous concluding observations. The BNHRC considers that a biometric system should be introduced into the birth registration process to authenticate identity and reduce duplication and error. 8 Ibid. Available at <http://archive.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/medical-test-shows-oishee-is-19/> last visited on 20.10.2014. 10 Ibid. 11 The Prevention of Cruelty to Women and Children Act 2000, Section 13. 12 UNICEF, FACTSHEET: Birth Registration, Bangladesh Country Office, Child Protection Section, May 2014, pp. 1-2. For data, see<http://www.paskan.com/br/bd/dial> last visited on 29.10.2014. 13 Ibid. 9 11