certificate. Many parents who have lost their birth certificates through no fault of their own, including such incidents as house fires or xenophobic attacks. In some cases, they are not able to get birth certificates re-issued and ultimately are unable to have their children acquire legal status in the country through family joining process at the refugee office or through the immigration process. This gap also heightens a child's risk of statelessness. The SCCT therefore recommends that the Department of Home Affairs should ensure its systems are capable of re-issuing lost foreign birth certificates, that a remedy is created for individuals who as of now are unable to have a birth certificate re-issued, and that the Regulations set out a framework for this process to occur under. It is the right of all children born in South Africa to be issued with a birth certificate. Conclusion We thank the Department of Home Affairs for the opportunity to provide comments on the current Draft Regulations. The SCCT strongly urges the Department of Home Affairs to ensure that the Regulations recognise and promote the rights of all children in South Africa, for the benefit of families, South African society, and the region more broadly. The constitutional right of a child to a birth certificate cannot be infringed on simply due to the legal or documentation status of their parents. Toward this end, the SCCT recommends that the relevant sub-sections of Draft Regulations 3, 4 and 5 be reviewed and amended to ensure that every child, regardless of the legal status of their parent(s), can access nationality from birth, as well as other socio-economic rights conferred through the Constitution that require documentation. END For more information, please contact: Sindisiwe Moyo (Advocacy Officer, SCCT) sindi@scalabrini.org.za Lotte Manicom (Advocacy Officer, SCCT) lotte@scalabrini.org.za 9