482 Melbourne University Law Review [Vol 40:456 To be clear, a failure to register a birth does not render someone stateless as a matter of law. However, ‘registration of the birth provides proof of descent and of place of birth and therefore underpins implementation of the 1961 Convention and related human rights norms.’146 Without it, a person may find it exceptionally difficult to prove who they are in order to have their nationality recognised. Non-registration of birth is an avoidable, but all too frequent, cause of statelessness, and as Laura van Waas notes, it can be difficult to know ‘where to draw the line between the simple lack of documentation and a case of statelessness.’147 This is why ‘[o]ne of the best means of avoiding statelessness is to ensure recognition of an individual’s genuine and effective link with a State, based on identifiable factors including place of birth, descent, and residency.’148 Article 7(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, art 24(2) of the ICCPR and art 18(2) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provide that a child must be registered ‘immediately after birth’. The right to immediate birth registration is a distinct and separate right by which the state records and acknowledges the existence and legal personality of a Sustainable Development Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals: 17 Goals to Transform Our World <http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/>: On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ---- adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit ---- officially came into force. Over the next fifteen years, with these new Goals that universally apply to all, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no-one is left behind. The SDGs, also known as Global Goals, build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and aim to go further to end all forms of poverty. The new Goals are unique in that they call for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses [sic] a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. While the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected to take ownership and establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals. Countries have the primary responsibility for follow-up and review of the progress made in implementing the Goals, which will require quality, accessible and timely data collection. Regional follow-up and review will be based on national-level analyses and contribute to follow-up and review at the global level. 146 Guidelines on Statelessness No 4, UN Doc HCR/GS/12/04, 12 [55]. 147 van Waas, Nationality Matters, above n 15, 196. 148 Batchelor, ‘Statelessness and the Problem of Resolving Nationality Status’, above n 1, 168 (citations omitted).