BANGKOK, Nov. 27 -- Ministers, senior government officials and experts from Asia and the Pacific have gathered here at a United Nations-led conference with a shared commitment to achieve universal and responsive civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems across the region by 2024.

Under the theme of "Get every one in the picture," the first- ever Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific is being convened by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ( ESCAP).

The five-day conference, scheduled to conclude on Friday, is held against the backdrop that more than 100 million children under the age of five in Asia and the Pacific have not had their births registered and nine out of 10 people in the region live in countries with unreliable death statistics.

"The Asia-Pacific region is home to 135 million unregistered children who could be denied their basic rights to education, healthcare, social services or future employment," stated Daniel Toole, United Nations Children's Fund Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific.

"We are determined to work together with governments and civil society to ensure universal registration of births, deaths and other vital events in people's lives," he said.

The conference is anticipated to conclude with the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration to "Get every one in the picture" in Asia and the Pacific and a ceremony to proclaim the "Asian and Pacific CRVS Decade, 2015-2024."

"If effectively implemented, the Ministerial Declaration and the Regional Action Framework can transform how we approach the improvement of civil registration and vital statistics systems, but they require serious political commitment," United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary, Shamshad Akhtar said.

The Ministerial Declaration expresses the commitment of governments to achieve the shared vision that by 2024, all people in Asia and the Pacific will benefit from universal and responsive CRVS systems that facilitate the realization of their rights and support good governance, health and development.

"Within the context of defining new sets of sustainable development goals in 2015, CRVS is receiving much attention due to its strong implications for legal rights and legal identity, as well as good governance and accountability, all of which are part of the deliberations on the development agenda beyond 2015," Thailand's Minister of Interior Anupong Paochinda commented.

"We must count every man, woman, child and baby and be there with them at every stage of their lives -- from birth to death -- so that together we can ensure every child grows up to realize their dreams and ambitions," Plan International CEO Nigel Chapman said.

For the remainder of the conference, delegates from over 40 countries in Asia and the Pacific will discuss policy priorities for improving CRVS in the region, set national targets for the " Asian and Pacific CRVS Decade 2015-2024" and share their achievements, challenges and expectations for regional collaboration on CRVS.