one parent to be Tanzanian in addition to the child being born on the territory for the
child to be recognised as a citizen by birth. This runs contrary to Section 5 of the TCA,
and has remained uncontested in courts of law, effectively altering this aspect of
citizenship acquisition under Tanzanian law.29
43. This combination of jus soli and jus sanguinis puts at risk of statelessness, children born
to foreign parents, or to parents of unknown nationality, which is particularly
problematic given the long-term refugee populations residing in the country. Moreover,
Tanzanian law lacks safeguards to provide nationality to children born in Tanzania who
would otherwise be stateless, putting children at risk of statelessness.
44. TCA is also silent on granting nationality to foundlings. Moreover, they are only granted
birth certificates which do not provide details of the nationality of the parents as they
are unknown.
Birth registration
45. Birth registration is fundamental to the protection of children and prevention of
statelessness. As birth registration legally establishes the place of birth, proof of age,
and parental affiliation, it serves as important documentary proof to acquire the parents'
nationality or the nationality of the State in which the child is born. It also provides
children with protection. While the denial of birth registration does not amount to
statelessness, there is a crucial link between birth registration and statelessness, with
birth registration operating as a key form of proof of the link between the individual and
the State. The lack of birth registration greatly increases the risk of statelessness,
especially among populations whose belonging is under question by the state.
46. Birth registration in Tanzania is governed by several laws, which provide for universal
birth registration for all children born within Tanzania regardless of their status.
However, Tanzania has historically had very low rates of birth registration – one of the
lowest on the African continent - creating greater risks of statelessness.30
47. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern about low birth
registration rates. The Committee recommended in 2006, and 2015, that Tanzania make
greater efforts to expand access to birth registration, particularly in rural areas, by
ensuring registration free of charge and making provision for late registration.
Moreover, several states have suggested improvement to birth registration during the
first and second UPR cycles.
48. There have been several initiatives to ensure universal birth registration. In 2016, the
government, in collaboration with UNICEF, rolled out a decentralised birth registration
campaign for children under five years.31 The initiative aimed to make birth registration
more accessible and affordable, and aimed to register 230,000 children under the age
of five in the Iringa and Njombe regions. The initiative aimed to address barriers to
registration by decentralising the process, delegating registration to local authorities;
29
GLOBALCIT, ‘Report on Citizenship Law: Tanzania’ (April 2020), p. 12.
There have been improvements in birth registration efforts; however, registration levels are still low. For example, although
the registration of children under five doubled between 1999 and 2010, it still remained at just over 16 per cent in 2010. This is
far below the average for Sub-Saharan Africa, which stands at 44 per cent. Furthermore, only half of the children who are
officially registered in Tanzania receive a birth certificate. For more information, please see ‘Birth registration in Tanzania:
Tigo’s support of the new mobile birth registration system’ <https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wpcontent/uploads/2016/07/Birth-Registration-in-Tanzania_Tigos-support-of-the-new-mobile-birth-registration-system.pdf>.
31
UNICEF, ‘Advancing the Birth Registration system in Tanzania’ (30 November 2016).
30
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