6 Prevention of statelessness 6.1 Assisting children in need of care and protection Vulnerable children herein refer to foreign as well as South African orphans, abandoned children, unaccompanied minors, separated children and child-headed households.140 These children tend to be at high risk of statelessness. The main reason for their risk of becoming stateless is their lack of identity documentation, lack of documentary proof of their citizenship and the difficulty of obtaining such proof once their biological parents are out of the picture. South Africa hosts a large number of children who have migrated to the territory and are currently unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian. These children may have come alone or with a parent or legal guardian, who later abandoned the child or died. The Department of Social Development, in its most recent ‘Guidelines on Separated and Unaccompanied Minors Outside Their Country of Origin’ defines an unaccompanied minor (UAM) as follows: A child who is outside his or her country of nationality or origin, has been separated from both parents and other relatives and is not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible for doing so.141 The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that there are 3.7 million orphans in South Africa. In addition, around 150,000 children are estimated to live in child headed households. While the previous Births and Deaths Registration Act allowed a parent or a ‘person having charge of the child or a person requested to do so by the parents or the said person’ to register a birth,142 the 2010 amendments (which came into force on 1 March 2014) and its regulations state that only a parent, legal guardian or next of kin will be able to register a birth. Only where the biological parents are deceased and death certificates can be produced may such births be registered by legal guardians and next of kin. As such, children who are head of household will no longer be able to register their siblings' births. Furthermore, high rates of HIV/AIDS 140 This group is also known in the child protection field as ‘orphans and vulnerable children’ or ‘OVC.’ 141 Department of Social Development, ‘Guidelines on Separated and Unaccompanied Children Outside Their Country of Origin in South Africa’ (2012) p.4. 142 Section 9(1) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act. 108 Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide