Zimbabwe or working for the Zimbabwean state or for an international organisation. For citizenship by registration, a child can acquire Zimbabwean nationality based on continuous and lawful residence for at least ten years; or adoption by a Zimbabwean citizen.50 Section 43(2) of the Constitution also provides that persons born in Zimbabwe before 2013 to a SADC national parent, residing in Zimbabwe in 2013, are citizens by birth.51 37. The Citizenship Act, however, still refers to the former Constitution and fails to establish the requirements for, and rights of, citizenship by birth. While Section 43(2) of the 2013 Constitution provides that residents born in Zimbabwe before 2013 to SADC national parents are Zimbabwean citizens by birth,52 this has not been implemented into the Act. Also, Section 36(3) of the 2013 Constitution corrects the absence of a provision on foundlings in the Citizenship Act and stipulates that a child found in Zimbabwe who is, or appears to be, less than fifteen years of age, and whose nationality and parents are not known, is presumed to be a Zimbabwean citizen by birth.53 However, the Citizenship Act fails to accord foundlings their constitutional right to Zimbabwean citizenship by birth.54 There is also no provision and procedure for the registration of Zimbabweans by descent or by registration, in terms of sections 37 and 38 of the Constitution.55 38. In Zimbabwe, it is common for grandparents raise their grandchildren in the absence of their parents, who may have died or left to neighbouring countries for economic reasons. They, similarly to fathers, struggle to register births and apply for birth certificates for their grandchildren, particularly where the mothers are unavailable.56 Issue III - Arbitrary deprivation of nationality 39. While states have broad discretion to regulate nationality matters, including deprivation of nationality, international law prevents states from having absolute discretion. Certain standards and principles must be respected and complied with. The Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure57and the UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality58 provide important guidance 50 51 Section 35, Constitution. Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 20, Section 43(2). 53 Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 20, Section 36(3). Amnesty International, We Are Like ‘Stray Animals’. Thousands Living on the Margin due to Statelessness in Zimbabwe, Amnesty International, (April 2021), page 28, available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr46/3932/2021/en/. 55 Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 20, Sections 37 and 38. 56 Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Report on National Inquiry on Access to Documentation in Zimbabwe, (April 2020), page 29, available at: http://www.zhrc.org.zw/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NI-Report-1.pdf. 57 Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure, March 2020: https://files.institutesi.org/PRINCIPLES.pdf. The Principles were drafted by The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion in collaboration with the Open Society Justice Initiative and with support from the Asser Institute and Ashurst LLP. They were developed over a 30-month research and consultation period, with input from more than 60 leading experts in the field of human rights, nationality and statelessness, counter-terrorism, refugee protection, child rights, migration and other related areas. At the time of submission, they have been endorsed by over 100 individual experts and organisations, including leading academics, UN Special Rapporteurs and Treaty Body members, litigators, judges, parliamentarians and diplomats. The Principles restate or reflect international law and legal standards under the UN Charter, treaty law, customary international law, general principles of law, judicial decisions and legal scholarship, regional and national law and practice. They articulate the international law obligations of States and apply to all situations in which States take or consider taking steps to deprive a person of nationality as a national security measure. More information is available here: https://www.institutesi.org/yearofaction-resources/principles-on-deprivation-of-nationality. 58 UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No.5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, May 2020, HCR/GS/20/05: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ec5640c4/html. The Guidelines provide guidance on the interpretation of Articles 5 – 9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. They draw on the Summary Conclusions of the Expert Meeting on Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention and Avoiding Statelessness Resulting from Loss and Deprivation held in Tunis, Tunisia on 31 October-1 November 2013 (“Tunis Conclusions”) 54 9