CIVIL IDENTIFICATION AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR PROTECTING CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IN THE STATE OF PARÁ, BRAZIL

The article analyzes the civil identification of children as a strategic instrument for comprehensive protection in early childhood, with a focus on the State of Pará. The research adopts a qualitative approach, with exploratory and descriptive characteristics, grounded in a bibliographic review of theoretical works, legislation, institutional reports, and empirical studies on under-registration, child vulnerability, and public policies. Content analysis is employed to systematize categories related to identity, documentation, territorial inequalities, and protection mechanisms, allowing for the interpretation of discourses and regulations from an interdisciplinary perspective. The analysis shows that Pará presents high rates of under-registration and deep territorial inequalities, especially in rural, riverside, indigenous, and quilombola areas, where access to civil registration services is limited. The study also identifies weaknesses in the integration among maternity units, civil registry offices, health services, social assistance, and public security, which undermines the effectiveness of protection policies. Finally, it proposes guidelines to strengthen the civil identification of children, including the universalization of neonatal identification, the expansion of identity card issuance for children aged 0 to 6, the creation of a State Protocol for Child Identification, and permanent awareness campaigns. It concludes that civil identification is an essential public policy to ensure citizenship, prevent violence, and strengthen the Child and Adolescent Rights Guarantee System.