remote areas of its territory. The Committee recommended that the State party improve the birth registration system of nonMalaysian children born in Malaysia, children of single mothers and children born in remote areas. Meanwhile, children without official documentation should be allowed to access basic services, such as health and education, while waiting to be properly registered. CHAPTER 2 Among the other recommendations that SUHAKAM made concerning this issue: • That the right of all children to have a nationality is respected. A mechanism should be developed to address statelessness within the national borders and ensure that every child is registered at birth and granted nationality. • Birth registration19 - Extend the period of registration of births from the present 14 days to at least three months to assist those who live in remote areas. - It should be mandatory for NRD to register all applications for birth certificates, including late registration, without unnecessary delay. - Carry out more campaigns to inform parents of the necessity to register their children’s birth. - Make a greater effort to encourage unmarried parents to register their child’s birth to prevent problems when enrolling the child for primary school.20 SUHAKAM will be engaging with the NRD and MOHA to solve this long-overdue problem, which hampers a child’s fundamental right to citizenship later in life. The new government must exercise its political will to resolve this problem. 19 20 SUHAKAM Annual Report 2001, p. 40. SUHAKAM Annual Report 2018, p. 86. ANNUAL REPORT 2020 73