ensure “immediate” birth registration by registering children within days or weeks of birth (not months or years) while allowing time for cultural practices provide accessible, free, and flexible registration systems, including mobile registration units in schools or hospitals remove barriers like fees, penalties, or indirect costs such as mandatory DNA tests implement inclusive and nondiscriminatory registration for vulnerable groups e.g., children with disabilities, children of refugees or migrants, children of imprisoned mothers, children affected by HIV/AIDS, and children in rural or nomadic communities The child’s right to an identity, includes their nationality and name. States must protect children from the loss or denial of nationality, and when a child’s identity is compromised, the State must take steps to restore it. 1.2.3.3. Persons with Disabilities Access to nationality and legal identity is crucial for the dignity, autonomy, and inclusion of persons with disabilities. However, many individuals with disabilities face systemic barriers in obtaining birth certificates or identity documents due to discrimination, inaccessible administrative systems, and restrictive legal rules. These barriers increase their risk of statelessness, limiting their ability to access essential services, participate in society, and exercise legal rights. Key advocacy priorities: Civil society can help ensure equal access to nationality and documentation for persons with disabilities by: advocating for inclusive nationality laws that protect the rights of persons with disabilities and challenge legal incapacitation rules that block applications for citizenship or identity documents. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, 2006) Treaty body: Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Ratification status: all African States Key article(s): Article 18 The CRPD affirms that persons with disabilities must enjoy equal rights to nationality and legal identity. Article 18 specifically guarantees: the right to acquire and change a nationality, promoting accessible civil registration systems, including braille forms, sign language interpretation, and mobile registration units. and protection from arbitrary deprivation of nationality; the right to obtain, possess, and use nationality or identity documentation; partnering with disability rights groups to raise awareness, document discrimination, and support rights-based reforms. supporting strategic litigation to challenge discriminatory nationality laws, policies, or practices affecting persons with disabilities the right to freedom of movement and the right to leave and return to one’s own country; and the child’s right to a nationality, the right to immediate birth registration, the right to a name. 22