CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY 2020 The Court equally condemned similar provisions in the Immigration Act. Accordingly, the Court: “order[ed] the Respondent State to amend its legislation to provide individuals with judicial remedies in the event of dispute over their citizenship.”496 In 2019, the Court issued a judgment in another case against Tanzania, brought on behalf of Robert John Penessis, who had been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for “illegal presence” in Tanzania, although he claimed to be Tanzanian and held a Tanzanian passport. The Court confirmed the findings of the Anudo case that the right to nationality established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has acquired the status of a rule of customary international law, and that since the right to nationality is a fundamental aspect of the dignity of the human person, the expression “legal status” under Article 5 of the Charter necessarily encompasses the right to nationality. It also confirmed that, once a prima facie case is shown that a person is a national (through possession of identity documents issued by the State), the burden shifts to the State to prove otherwise.497 Birth registration and legal identity The importance of birth registration to the right to a nationality is reflected in the fact that birth registration is included within same articles as the right to a nationality in the treaties listed above.498 General Comments interpreting the treaties also emphasise the importance of birth registration for the rights of children.499 The Convention on the Rights of the Child adds the additional obligation for states to protect the right of a child to “preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations”, and to provide assistance to re-establish a child’s identity where it has been illegally deprived.500 This provision implies within it the obligation for states to establish the nationality of a child where this is unknown – and not, for example, simply to state that the child is not a national of the country of birth. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child also includes the right to birth registration “immediately after birth” within the same article providing for the right to a nationality. The General Comment adopted by the Committee of Experts sets out the obligations of states in detail.501 496 Ibid., para. 132 (viii). 497 Robert John Penessis v. United Republic of Tanzania, App. No. 013/2015, African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, Judgment of 28 November 2019. For commentary, see Bronwen Manby and Clement Bernardo Mubanga, “Case Note: Robert John Penessis v United Republic of Tanzania (Judgement) (African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, App No.013/2015, 28 November 2019)”, Statelessness and Citizenship Review 2, no. 1 (2020): 172–178. 498 Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 7; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 24; Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, art. 29; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 18. 499 For example: Joint General Comment CMW No. 4 & CRC No.23 (2017): Obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return; General Comment No. 21 (2017): Children in street situations; General Comment No. 7 (2005): implementing child rights in early childhood. 500 Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 8. 501 African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, “General Comment on Article 6”. UNHCR / December, 2020 112