 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 7);2  1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 24);3 and  1999 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Article 6).4 South Africa is party to all these conventions and is bound to implement these provisions relating to birth registration. It is submitted that the Draft Regulations are at odds with these provisions in that they require valid documentation of foreign parents to register the birth of their child. Furthermore, the Draft Regulations do not take into consideration the vulnerabilities of refugees and are at odds with the legal refugee protection framework.5 An unabridged birth certificate provides a child with proof of birth, a nationality, a name and a place of birth. It does not provide legal stay to a child born to foreign parents, nor does it provide for South African citizenship. A birth certificate is vital to establishing the nationality of the child, thereby reducing the risk of statelessness. Children whose birth is unregistered are at risk of statelessness. The registration of all births occurring within South African borders allows the South African government to quantify the numbers of children born. It is therefore in the interests of the state that all births are properly registered without overly restrictive requirements and obstacles. Birth registration is vital to avoiding childhood statelessness and, as the South African state seeks to quantify those within its borders, the creation of groups of children who are at risk of statelessness and thus invisible to the state is not in the best interests of the South Africa or the region. The South African Citizenship Act (No. 88 of 1995) provides for citizenship to be conferred by birth to persons born in South Africa with no access to any other nationality. This is meant to prevent statelessness. However, birth registration is a prerequisite and the reality is that stateless people, or those at risk of statelessness, would not even be able to register their birth as they would not be able to meet the requirements of the Birth and Death Registration Act.6 2 Available online at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx. Available online at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx. 4 Available online at: www.achpr.org/files/instruments/child/achpr_instr_charterchild_eng.pdf. 5 As set out in the Refugees Act (No 130, 1998). The vulnerability of refugees has been highlighted by the Constitutional Court where it held that refugees are ‘unquestionably a vulnerable group in our society and their plight calls for compassion’ in the matter of Union of Refugee Women v Director: Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority 2007 (4) SA 395 CC at para 28. 6 South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 states at Section 2 (4)(b) ‘Any person born in the Republic and who is not a South African citizen by virtue of the provisions of subsection (2), shall be a South African citizen by birth, if- ( a) he or she is adopted by a South African citizen in accordance with the Child Care Act, 1983 (Act No. 74 of 1983); or · (b) (i) he or she does not have the citizenship or nationality of any other country, or has no right to 3 3