Unless you have a birth certificate you are, by definition, of no age. Your parents' names do not appear in the registers. You do not have access to certain state services. In short, it is like not existing, it is living with no rights.
And this is also why millions of people in Africa can be exposed to the ambitions of organisations or networks that exploit legal uncertainty. One of the greatest dangers is human trafficking.
The Community of Sant'Egidio's fight against trafficking begins in maternity wards, where registration centres are set up, by the BRAVO! programme, which gives a name to the "invisible children" in Burkina Faso, Malawi, Guinea Conakry and Mozambique. Millions of children are guaranteed the 'right to exist' and not to be subjected to child labour and exploitation.
In the pandemic, when guarantees of rights can be weakened, BRAVO! has never stopped and taken all the necessary precautions to continue its activities.
Learn more about BRAVO!
The World Day against Trafficking in Persons was proclaimed for 30 July by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013, through Resolution A/RES/68/192. The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness among the international community about the situation of victims and to promote the defence of their rights.
