F KHAN PER / PELJ 2020 (23) 2 1 Introduction The prevention and resolution of childhood statelessness is one of the key goals of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its Campaign to End Statelessness in ten years,1 or by 2024. According to the UNHCR, 70,000 stateless children are born each year, and the effects of being born stateless are severe.2 To achieve the goal of eradicating statelessness, the UNHCR has urged all states to take steps in line with the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness.3 The four steps identified by UNHCR include: states to allow children to be granted the nationality of the country in which they are born if they would otherwise be stateless; reform laws that prevent mothers from passing their nationality on to their children on an equal basis as fathers; eliminate laws and practices that deny children nationality because of their ethnicity, race or religion; and ensure universal birth registration to prevent statelessness.4 The specific focus of this article will be to examine the risk of childhood statelessness in South Africa. This article will begin by defining statelessness and will then examine the causes and consequences of statelessness. It will also briefly comment on the two Statelessness Conventions and examine the extent to which the right to nationality provided for under international human rights laws can protect stateless children. Thereafter, the focus will be on the situation in South Africa. The author will question whether the laws effectively protect children who are at risk of being born stateless and provide solutions to this problem. In doing so, the four steps identified by the UNHCR to prevent statelessness will be tested against South Africa's laws. This article will use a child-centred approach, viewing children as beings with rights and not merely as objects of protection, as with the state-centred approach. 2 Children as bearers of rights The parents of a child, or any other guardian, and the state are the most significant role-players in the life of children. However, since children (for  1 2 3 4 Fatima Khan. LLB PhD (UCT). Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Refugee Rights Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa. E-mail: fatima.khan@uct.ac.za. UNHCR 2014 https://www.unhcr.org/protection/statelessness/54621bf49/globalaction-plan-end-statelessness-2014-2024.html. UNHCR 2015 http://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/wp-content/uploads/2015-10StatelessReport_ENG16.pdf. UNHCR 2014 https://www.unhcr.org/protection/statelessness/54621bf49/globalaction-plan-end-statelessness-2014-2024.html. UNHCR 2014 https://www.unhcr.org/protection/statelessness/54621bf49/globalaction-plan-end-statelessness-2014-2024.html.