In line with Actions 2, 3 (Remove gender discrimination from nationality laws), 4 (Prevent denial, loss or deprivation of nationality on discriminatory grounds) and 5 (Prevent statelessness in cases of state succession), the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) issued a decision on the case of Benjamin v. Government of Sudan in November, concerning a child of mixed Sudanese and South Sudanese origin. The ACERWC recommended that Sudan grant Ms. Benjamin nationality on the basis that the child would otherwise remain stateless, and should take a similar approach in other such cases. The Committee further recommended reforms to guarantee gender equal nationality rights and to end discrimination against children of South Sudanese origin. With regard to Action 7 (Ensure birth registration for the prevention of statelessness), from 20 November to 15 December, UNHCR supported the Government of Burkina Faso in the issuance of birth registration certificates to persons in border regions. From 4 to 13 December, UNHCR will support the Government in issuing 12,000 birth certificates in two border regions. Similarly, from June to November, UNHCR supported the Government of Côte d’Ivoire in issuing approximately 400,000 birth certificates to children at risk of statelessness. The birth certificates will allow the children to sit for their primary school exams and grant them access to secondary education. In Chad, as of November, the Directorate of Political Affairs and Civil Status has issued approximately 35,000 birth certificates for children of refugees and refugeehosting communities at risk of statelessness. The project started in March 2018 and is being implemented in ten provinces. In line with Actions 3, 4 and 5, the Sudanese National Assembly approved the Nationality Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, which will restore Sudanese nationality to individuals of South Sudanese origin who have resided in the Northern parts of Sudan since 1924. The bill also allows Sudanese mothers to confer Sudanese nationality to their children in cases where the father is South Sudanese. The new bill will take effect after it is signed by the President of the Republic of the Sudan. Also with respect to Action 7, on 11 October, the Parliament of Albania adopted legal amendments to the country’s civil status law removing barriers to birth registration. The amendments will reduce the risk of childhood statelessness, particularly among children born to Albanian parents outside the country and for children of the Roma and Egyptian communities. The amendments followed a baseline study by UNHCR and its partner Tirana Legal Aid Society, as well as a period of consultation with the Friends of Children Parliamentary Group, facilitated by the UNHCR-UNICEF led Coalition on Every Child’s Right to a Nationality. With respect to Action 6 (Grant protection status to stateless migrants and facilitate their naturalization), on 18 October, the Government of Uruguay adopted a law on the Recognition and Protection of Stateless Persons. The law establishes a legal protection framework for stateless persons and applicants for statelessness status to effectively access their fundamental human rights and facilitate their naturalization. This law was based on the UNHCR Draft Articles on the Protection of Stateless Persons and the Facilities for their Naturalization. 8