39. Following the Civil Status Reform in 2010, birth certificates can be issued to children born on Mauritanian soil only if their parents are registered according to the 2010 established procedure and provide a marriage certificate in compliance with the Personal Status Code 2001-052. This law codifies traditional marriage customs prevailing in Mauritania and requires couples to submit identity documentation from their country of origin, which many recognised refugees residing in the country do not have readily available.24 40. Consequently, children born out of wedlock cannot access civil registration and therefore become victims of statelessness. Sex outside marriage is prohibited under Sharia law, and adultery is included in the list of crimes punishable by death. As a result, the births of children born out of wedlock are not registered for fear of facing severe criminal charges and punishment. For some people, the lack of a marriage certificate means that children of these unions are considered to be born out of wedlock. The Personal Status Code creates another obstacle to the registration of children born outside legal marriage by requiring that the father, not mother, register births. This is often not possible for children born out of wedlock, especially in cases where the mother is unable to locate the father, or in cases where the father considers the child to be illegitimate. 41. In addition to impacting all children born out of wedlock, the problem created by civil registration reform particularly affects two main refugee groups, Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees, who opted to locally integrate in Mauritania after implementation of the cessation clause.25 42. This law also poses a problem for certain Mauritanians, in particular the Haratine. The requirement to prove Mauritanian ancestry is almost impossible for a slave/former slave, since historically slaves had the status of an object and did not receive administrative treatment equal to that of other Mauritanians. Denial of citizenship to Haratines 43. Former slaves and their descendants form the community called the Haratines (the ‘freed’ in Hassanya), face significant practical obstacles in obtaining civil registration. National civil society organisations have identified approximately 9,000 Haratine girls and their parents, who lack identity documents and have been unable to obtain civil status. Their lack of documentation coupled with the structural racial discrimination they endure, places them at heightened risk of statelessness. More than 19,000 children have been prevented from accessing education due to lack of access to identity documents. Haratines without identity documents, face difficulties in accessing employment and vocational training, enjoy limited freedom of movement, and do not have equal access to state services. They have difficulty proving that they are Mauritanian and some have been treated/seen as Malian nationals because of the porous border between the two countries. 44. The discriminatory denial of documentation and related (risk of) statelessness has serious consequences for access to services and the exercise of other rights. After their release or after having escaped their masters, the former Haratine slaves are unable to move freely both inside and outside Mauritania. Without identity documents, ex-slaves cannot open a bank account, cannot vote and generally cannot own land. In addition, they cannot access education beyond the primary level. 24 25 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/mauritania/session_23_-_november_2015/unhcr_upr23_mrt_e_main.pdf https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=2173&file=EnglishTranslation 9