iv) they must install procedural guarantees which must be respected, allowing the concerned to defend himself before an independent body. 8.4 AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS AND WELFARE OF THE CHILD The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter) to which Zimbabwe is state party, provides for the child’s right to a name, birth registration and nationality, and imposes an obligation on State Parties to take legislative measures to prevent statelessness among children.73 In 2014 the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child adopted General Comment no. 2 on Article 6 of the African Children’s Charter. General Comment no. 2 urges states to treat children without discrimination based on origin or other grounds and also to prevent and/or reduce statelessness, as lack of recognition has a profoundly negative impact on the fulfilment of rights such as those to education, health care and other social services. The African Committee of Experts states that “The right to a nationality has a central importance for the recognition and respect for other rights: thus, the prevention of statelessness, including the statelessness of children, is a fundamental principle of international human rights law.”74 8.5 UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL In its 2012 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) outcome decisions, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) stated that every child has the right to acquire a nationality. It also recognized the special need of children for protection against arbitrary deprivation of nationality and encouraged States that have not acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness to consider doing so. The UNHRC further emphasized in its 2016 UPR Submission on Zimbabwe the importance of universal birth registration, including late birth registration, as a means for providing an official record of the existence of a person and the recognition of that individual as a person before the law. The UNHRC expressed its concern that unregistered individuals have limited or no access to services and enjoyment of all the rights to which they are entitled and further reiterated that persons without birth registration may be vulnerable to statelessness and associated lack of protection and that registering a person’s birth is a vital step towards his or her protection. The universal registration of people is also in the interests of state security as law enforcement institutions are able to trace any persons who may breach any laws as their identity will have been duly recorded. 73 Article 6 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Paragraph 83 of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare Children General Comment No. 2 on Article 6 of the African Children’s Charter. 74 WE ARE LIKE “STRAY ANIMALS” THOUSANDS LIVING ON THE MARGINS DUE TO STATELESSNESS IN ZIMBABWE Amnesty International 27