All children born on the territory of Macedonia who are abandoned, or whose biological parents do not know exactly what day and month they were born, will have a birthday on January 1. Thus, these children, mostly Roma on the street, will receive an identity number for the first time, part of the media reported.
The new law on birth records, passed in a quick procedure in the Parliament last week, further states that if the year of birth of those children is not known, then witnesses of the birth under full material and criminal responsibility will tell the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice for the year, and preferably for the exact date of birth.
If there is no testimony for such children, then a medical person will determine the age, the amendment to the Law provides. All options are covered only for these children to receive ID numbers for the first time. The biggest novelty is the added article 4a, which reads:
"Every child born on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia has the right to be registered in the birth register immediately, and no later than 45 days from the day of the child's birth, regardless of the citizenship and personal status of his parents." The persons who applied for the public call and are registered in the Register of unregistered persons, who are about 700 in number, all Roma, after additional checks, will be registered by December 31, 2023 at the latest.
