JULY – DECEMBER 2025 unless proven otherwise. The amendments also clarify in law which children are considered to have been “left in a healthcare institution”. Presentation of a birth certificate to a child at a school in Guidan Roumdji, Niger ©Maradi Ciaud On 19 December 2025, Haiti’s Transitional Government issued a Presidential Order outlining key measures to advance the reform of the national civil registration system. The Order clarifies the functions of the National Identification Office (ONI), including the identification of individuals eligible for Haitian nationality by birth, the maintenance of the national register, and the issuance of National Identification Cards. It further introduces provisions to make birth registration mandatory and marks an important step toward the digitalization and modernization of civil registry records. UNHCR will continue engaging with government counterparts and civil society to anticipate and address implementation challenges, particularly in light of the multidimensional forced displacement crisis currently affecting Haiti. On 20 November 2025 in Canada, Bill C-3 entered into force, amending the Citizenship Act to address long-standing gaps affecting so-called "Lost Canadians". The legislation aims to restore citizenship to individuals born abroad to Canadian parents who were themselves born outside Canada and who were previously excluded due to a 2009 restriction on citizenship transmission, which Canadian courts ruled unconstitutional in 2023. Bill C-3 provides for the automatic restoration of citizenship to affected individuals and establishes a new framework allowing citizenship by descent beyond the first generation, where the Canadian parent can demonstrate at least three cumulative years of physical presence in Canada prior to the child’s birth or adoption. The reform strengthens safeguards against statelessness, particularly with respect to preventing statelessness resulting from legislative gaps. UNHCR / DIPS Statelessness Section In early 2025, the Republic of Tajikistan adopted a new Law on the State Registration of Civil Status Acts, replacing the 2006 law. The legislation establishes a unified framework for registering births, marriages, and deaths, introduces flexibility for late birth registration, and allows registration when parents or applicants lack identity documents, based on requests from medical or guardianship authorities. While certain operational details, such as births outside medical facilities and cases requiring judicial intervention, will be clarified through subordinate regulations, UNHCR and its partner continue legal advocacy to promote the formalization of clear procedures to enable timely birth registration, access to civil documentation, and the prevention of statelessness, aiming to ensure that every child in Tajikistan can obtain a birth certificate and legal identity. In December 2025, in Iran, the Justice Department of Sistan and Baluchistan reported that despite 30,880 applications submitted under the 2019 law (permitting children born to Iranian citizen mothers and non-citizen fathers to apply for Iranian citizenship on a discretionary basis), only 23 children had received the Shenasnameh (identity booklet, which serves as the primary proof of citizenship). Authorities cited multilayered verification procedures, security considerations, high prevalence of mixed marriages, and disputed nationality claims as key factors contributing to low approval rates in the province. According to a previous report in March 2025 by the National Organization for Civil Registration (NOCR), 31,032 Shenasnameh had been issued nationwide to children of Iranian mothers and non-Iranian fathers under the 2019 Nationality Law, out of more than 100,000 applications. While this reflects continued progress, implementation remains uneven, particularly in border provinces On 1 September, Burkina Faso adopted a new Code of Persons and the Family introducing significant reforms on civil registration, identification and protection of stateless persons, and prevention of statelessness. The law improves access to civil registration by facilitating the issuance of civil status certificates to internally displaced persons and refugees whose births were not registered in their commune of origin. It also strengthens the identification and protection of stateless persons by: defining a stateless person; establishing a formal statelessness determination procedure; and guaranteeing equal treatment with nationals in several areas. It also provides for facilitated naturalization of stateless persons. On prevention, the Code strengthens 3