CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA \Y mother or father to be able to register the birth of a child, to take place at the nearest administrative office to their “principal residence”, and for abandoned children also to be registered. '*? It was only in 2017 that the law was amended to provide for the births of the children of foreigners to be registered as well as Ethiopians.'%S> Registration of the births of children of refugees began for the first time the same year,'** and the rights of refugees to registration of life events was confirmed by the new refugee law of 2019.'%5 Birth registration for refugees Returnee Affairs (ARRA), and Ethiopia pledged is carried out by the Agency in 2019 to ensure universal for Refugee and birth registration among refugees. '%6 The baseline birth registration rate for Ethiopia was very low before these reforms: three percent, according to the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey; and only two in three of those registered held a birth certificate. As is common, the rate varied also significantly by wealth and by place of birth: children in urban areas were much more likely than rural children to have their births registered (12% versus 2%) and birth registration increased with increasing household wealth (from 1% in the lowest wealth quintile to 10% in the highest quintile). Children in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa were much more likely to have had their birth registered (24% and 19%, respectively) than children in other regions (5% or less) .197 Birth registration of children has improved in recent years, but as of 2020 was still estimated to reach less than 20 percent of births of children under one year old.'*8 There remain challenges with the legal framework and its implementation, including the continuing requirement for both parents to present themselves as declarants for birth registration (despite the provision in the law'’’), and for registration to be carried out in the usual place of residence (ie the kebele where the parents are registered, even if the birth does not take place in that kebele). These conditions exclude parents who cannot fulfil these requirements — among them asylum-seekers and refugees, the internally displaced, the urban poor, pastoralists, and single parents. Fees for issue of certificates also exclude poor households. The failure to provide for the role of churches and mosques in relation to baptism and confirmation of names means that this route to confirmation of identity is not given any legal recognition. In addition, the directive 132 Proclamation No.760/2012, arts. 24-29. 133 Vital Events Registration and National Identity Card Proclamation (Amendment) Proclamation No.1049/2017. 134 “In q historic first, Ethiopia begins civil registration for refugees”, UNHCR, 27 October 2017 https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2017/10/59f2f475 7/historic-first-ethiopia-beqins-civil-registration-refugees.html; Diana Diaz, “New Ethiopia policy helps refugees legally document life events”, UNHCR, 3 November 2017 https://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2017/11/59f9f5a84/new-ethiopia-policy-helpsrefugees-legally-document-life-events. html. 135 Refugees Proclamation No.1110/2019, art.36. 136 High-Level Segment on Statelessness: Results and Highlights, UNHCR, 2019, available at https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/high-level-seqment-statelessness/. 137 “Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2016”, Central Statistical Agency, Ethiopia, & DHS Program, July 2017 https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR328/F R328. pdf. 138 Information from UNICEF Ethiopia office, May 2021. 139 Proclamation No.760/2012, art. 26(1): “The birth of a child shall be declared by the father or mother of the child, in their default, by the guardian of the child or, in default of guardian, by the person who has taken care of the child.” 38 UNHCR — December 2021