33. Of even greater concern, is the fact that the provisions regulating late registration of birth only apply to the children of South African citizens, permanent residents and refugees.13 The births of the children of non-permanent residents cannot be registered after the 30 day period has expired.14 This includes children of irregular/undocumented and/or stateless migrants who would otherwise be stateless and cannot access South African citizenship without birth registration. This gap in the law is therefore acutely discriminatory and contrary to the principle of the best interests of the child. Particularly so, because it further limits the scope of the application of Section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act, which is intended to serve as a safeguard against statelessness. 34. The Department of Home Affairs has indicated that it intends to stop the process for the late registration of births by the end of 2015. If this does happen, while it is believed that there will be an appeal process for those who fail to register the births of their children within the 30 day period, more details on the procedure and available remedies are not yet available. There is a significant danger that if implemented, this could heighten the risk of statelessness of a significant number of children of both South African and non-South African parents. 35. Regulation 2 to the Citizenship Act regulates the registration of births of children of South African parents abroad. Such birth registrations must also be made within 30 days, and there is no provision for late registration of children born abroad. LHR has found that in practice, not all parents are able to approach the South African foreign mission within 30 days of a child’s birth. 36. In the context of the above limited time limit for birth registration and discriminatory application of the late registration procedure, the Committee is urged to ask South Africa: Why does it impose such a restrictive time limit for birth registration? On what basis does it discriminate against the children of non-nationals who are not permanent residents or refugees, and the children of nationals born abroad by excluding them from the late registration procedure? Can it present disaggregated data on the number of children whose births have not been registered as a result of both the exclusion referred to above, and the imposition of fees for the late registration procedure? Can it provide more information on the indicated plans of the Department of Home Affairs to stop the late registration process? Has adequate consideration been given to the impact this is likely to have on birth registration and the child’s right to acquire a nationality? What steps will be taken to address any concerns in this regard? Restrictions on guardians registering the births of children 37. While the general rule under Section 9(1) of the Act is that the parents of the child shall register the birth, provision is made for a “prescribed person to register the birth of a child where parents of the child are deceased”. This excludes children in the care of legal guardians or family members while their parents are still alive but unable to register their births, from accessing birth registration. In South Africa, 24% of children do not live with their parents and are cared for by family members15. While this percentage is likely to be lower at the time of birth, there is nonetheless a considerable risk that this provision excludes a significant number of children from having their births registered. 38. In this context, the Committee is urged to ask South Africa to provide disaggregated data on the number of children whose births have not been registered as a result of this restrictive provision, and to ask on what basis the law discriminates against children separated from their parents. 13 Regulations 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the BDRA, 2014. Regulation 8 of the BDRA, 2014. 15 Mentjes H & Hall K (2013) Demography of South Africa’s children. In: Berry L, Biersteker L, Dawes A, Lake L & Smith C (eds)(2013) South African Child Gauge 2013. Cape Town: Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town. Pg 87 14 7