persons from Kosovo and Metohija to undergo additional checks when applying for passports or to register permanent residence. Even though the MoI claimed the Order did not apply to IDPs (in other words, holders of IDP certificates), in many cases RAE individuals from Kosovo and Metohija are not formally registered as internally displaced persons. Local authorities claimed there were large numbers of returnees under the Readmission Agreement in Serbia, and that some of them face problems in obtaining personal documents. Obtaining returnees’ foreign documents often requires complicated procedures and is usually not possible without support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The NGOs that work with these persons on a daily basis also reported cases where civil registers abroad need to be updated to correct erroneously entered information. Finally, registration of permanent residence is often an issue in Serbia, primarily with returnees whose last registered permanent residence was in Kosovo. 6.3 Next steps The situation has improved greatly relative to 2011, when the first amendments were made to regulations to address the large number of RAE persons at risk of statelessness. The Survey has also revealed that issues persist which preclude access to rights by at-risk individuals. Registration of birth and personal name, the key pillars of personal identity, obviously ought to be made possible for every child born in Serbia immediately after birth. Article 7(1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires its signatories to do so by stipulating that ‘[t]he child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.’24 In Serbia, this right is not available to children of undocumented parents as they cannot be registered immediately after birth, as is the standard procedure.25 This is the fundamental problem reported by NGOs (Praxis and the A11 Initiative), as new-born children of undocumented mothers cannot be registered. At best, this means that they will remain undocumented and unable to access rights for a few months, in case their parents succeed in having them registered subsequently. Still, these children may remain at risk of statelessness indefinitely, as their parents may fail to register their birth or name, or obtain certificates of nationality for them. Changes to certain secondary legislation could help RAE individuals at risk of statelessness by breaking the vicious circle whereby the children of legally invisible persons face the same issue themselves. 24 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. 25 According to the Regulation on the procedure for issuing notice of birth and content of notice of birth form for children born at healthcare institutions and the Instruction on keeping civil registers and civil register forms, parents must be in possession of birth certificates and personal identity cards (whereas foreign nationals need passports). 52 PERSONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS IN SERBIA OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SITUATION AND THE WAY FORWARD