6. This joint submission focuses on: a. b. The right of children to acquire and retain Botswana nationality, in particular where they would otherwise be stateless; Difficulty in accessing birth registration and/or documentation for child refugees when the child is orphaned. It draws on the combined expertise of the submitting organisations both in Botswana and internationally. The Universal Periodic Review of the Republic of Botswana under the First and Second Cycles 7. Botswana was first subject to the Universal Period Review on 1 December 2008 during the first cycle. Botswana again appeared before the Human rights Council on 1 January 2013 during the second UPR cycle. Although there were no recommendations specifically mentioning statelessness and the right to nationality, a few previous recommendations received and accepted by Botswana are highlighted below for their relevance. 8. Some of the most relevant recommendations under the 2012 UPR include: Recommendation Response by Botswana Continue to take the necessary measures to make sure that all the population has easy access to free birth registration for newborns - Mexico Accepted Improve the reception conditions, health care, access to water and sanitation, adequate housing and food, for refugees; Make sure that refugees are not repatriated in case that their lives are in danger in their country of origin, and promote, through public policies, their total integration into the society out of the refugees camps (Ecuador); Accepted Continue its engagement with improving the rights of refugees (Uganda) Accepted 9. The recommendations related to birth registration and documentation of refugees are further scrutinised below. Botswana’s international obligations 10. Botswana has ratified a number of core international and regional human rights instruments which recognise the right to a nationality. These legal instruments include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, Article 24), the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, Article 9); the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD, Article 5), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, Article 7) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC, Article 6).