result in the birth not being registered. LHR assists clients who are excluded from birth registration entirely as a result of these strict requirements. Restrictions on guardians registering the births of children 25. The current legislation regulating birth registration prevents legal guardians form registering the births of children where the parents are alive, but unavailable. LHR client, Eve, has been unable to obtain a birth certificate for years because the law does not allow her grandparents who are her legal guardians to register her birth on account of her mother being alive, but unreachable, because she left the country and has not made contact with her daughter. Eve and other children like her are at risk of statelessness as a result. 24% of children born in South Africa do not live with their biological parents24 and are potentially excluded from birth registration. Additional conditions for children born outside of hospitals 26. In the event that a child is born outside a health care institution, Regulation 3(3) of the BDRA (for children born in South Africa) and Regulation 11 (for the children of South Africans born abroad) require the birth of such child to be confirmed by affidavit by a South Africa citizen present at the time of the birth. 17 year old LHR client, Sarah, has never been able to register her birth because she was born at home without a South African to witness the birth. Her mother passed away leaving her undocumented. She has now had a child of her own who is also undocumented because South African law does not allow the children of undocumented mothers to be registered. Children born out of wedlock 27. Section 10 and regulation 12 of the BDRA make provision for children born out of wedlock. Accordingly, it is the mother who must register the child. A father can only register such a child’s birth, with the mother’s consent. LHR client Vusi, was born out of wedlock and his mother abandoned him. Even though Vusi’s mother is unreachable, his birth cannot be registered. 28. It is also impossible under the BDRA for a child to have his or her father’s details included in their birth certificate, without the father’s consent. Even when DNA results are available, the father is required to be physically present and sign to admit paternity. Consequently, paternal orphans born out of wedlock can never access their father’s nationality. It is unnecessary and discriminatory to distinguish between children born within and out of wedlock, when such distinction – as in this case – disadvantages extra-marital children. 29. Furthermore, the DNA test to prove paternity of foreign fathers costs R1,800. This amounts to the multiple discrimination against children born out of wedlock to foreign fathers. Foundlings 30. It is only foundlings whose births have been registered in South Africa, who would have access to nationality through Section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act (the ‘otherwise stateless’ provision). The procedure requires a social worker to register a child’s birth, if such child is orphaned or abandoned. The Department is however reluctant to register foundlings who are not infants. The Birth and Deaths Registration Act in its new regulations also aims to exclude perceived foreigners. 24 South Africa’s Progress in Realising Children’s Rights: A Law Review 2014 Paula Proudlock (Editor) http://www.ci.org.za/depts/ci/pubs/pdf/researchreports/2014/realising_childrens_rights_law_review_2014.p df