3.1.2 The right to a nationality “To me, nationality means that sense of belongingness and also where you are accepted as part of the community, part of the nation. Where you feel embraced as a human being, where you enjoy your rights as a person.” -JS, a South African whose ID was blocked due to suspected fraud The Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which is generally agreed to be the foundation for international human rights law, states unequivocally at Article 15, Everyone has the right to nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality. South Africa has signed and ratified a number of international instruments that protect the right to nationality: 1957 Convention on the Nationality of Married Women; 1965 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination; 1979 Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women; 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child; the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the 1999 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. See below for specific provisions relating to the right to nationality in each of these international instruments:20 • 1957 Convention on the Nationality of Married Women Neither the celebration nor dissolution of marriage between one of its nationals and an alien, nor the change of nationality by the husband during the marriage, shall automatically affect the nationality of the wife. Legal framework on nationality and statelessness in South Africa indisputable obligation on states to facilitate birth registration (a) in the country of birth and (b) for all children born in the territory. Neither the voluntary acquisition of the nationality of another State nor the renunciation of its nationality by one of its nationals shall prevent the retention of its nationality by the wife of such national. The alien wife of one of [the Contracting State’s] nationals may, at her request, acquire the nationality of her husband through specially privileged naturalisation procedures. 20 For a helpful summary of treaties South Africa has signed and/or ratified, see University of Minnesota's Human Rights Library, at http://www1.umn.edu/ humanrts/research/ratification-southafrica.html (accessed 3 October 2013). Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide 15