Reg Current wording Proposed wording Motivation 1 “Confirmation of birth certificate” means a certificate issued to a non-South African citizen confirming that the birth of his or her child occurred within the Republic and enables the holder thereof to approach the relevant authorities of his or her country of citizenship or nationality in order to register the birth of his or her child in his or her country of citizenship or nationality’s population register. We propose removing this definition (and any other reference to it) from the regulations. The term “birth certificate” should be used universally for all children born in South Africa. A “confirmation of birth” does not amount to a birth certificate. It is only the document which the child may use to obtain a birth certificate from another country. This is expressed clearly on form DHA 19 which states “This is not a birth certificate. Please register the birth of your child in your country of citizenship”. There are several problems with this amendment. Firstly, every child has the right to be registered immediately after birth according to section 28 of the South African Constitution, article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and article 6 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Second, the amendment assumes that every child will be able to have their births registered at their embassy. This is not the case for: 1. The children of refugees and asylum seekers. Such children cannot approach their embassies, because this would jeopardise their protection from that country and it would be considered to be availment to the protection of their country by the Department of Home Affairs. 2. Orphaned, abandoned and other children in need of care and protection in terms of the Children’s Act. Such children find it difficult to approach their embassy and prove a link to the country without their parents. This means that vulnerable children often wait years to get birth certificates or never get them at all, because of the difficulty in proving the identity of their parents or because of the cost of the documents. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s embassy charges R4000 for identifying documents. Orphaned children cannot afford this and will remain without a birth certificate. 3. Stateless children. These children will not be able to approach any embassy for a birth certificate at all. This is because they do not have the nationality of any country. This amendment excludes all stateless children from obtaining a birth certificate. 5