Exploring the Interface Between Birth Registration and Citizenship Determination: A Scoping Study in Seven Countries in Southern Africa The analysis underscores the need for further discussion on the intertwining of birth registration and citizenship determination. It also highlights the need for clear international guidance that addresses the link between birth registration, citizenship and ID systems. Given the impact a citizenship determination has on a person’s life, greater legal clarity is needed regarding when citizenship determination should take place, by whom and what procedures and safeguards should be in place. Besides clear legal designation of the authority responsible for making citizenship determination, procedures need to incorporate due process considerations, in other words, minimum standards for fairness and procedural justice. This includes informing the parents about decisions, and a clear mechanism for administrative and/or judicial review and providing the rationale for a negative determination if challenged. Finally, laws must also provide safeguards to prevent and reduce statelessness, accompanied by clear regulations and procedures to guide practical implementation. Laws must also guarantee universal birth registration in the country where the birth took place, regardless of parent and child status, so that this intertwining of birth registration and citizenship determination does not result in children being denied birth registration.69 The practice of intertwining described in this report raises concerns that some children will be denied birth registration, as the process of determining citizenship will add an extra layer of documentary requirements and scrutiny. However, the fact that the civil registry and ID systems are considered the backbone of digital public infrastructure makes it unlikely that the birth registration scrutiny will be less in future, and that governments would return to a time when it was a simple recording of the basic details of the child and parents. The digitalization and integration of civil registry into identity systems, has fundamentally altered the civil registration processes. It is therefore essential that civil registration and ID systems are driven by the dual ambition to have all children registered at birth and to prevent statelessness. The issues raised in this analysis are not necessarily new or unique to the countries analyzed. Similar observations have been made by other actors, including those working to implement the UN Legal Identity Agenda. In light of these concerns, this analysis suggests the following topics that would benefit from further consideration and guidance: • Should citizenship be determined at birth registration, if the civil registry is interoperable with the ID system? • If so, should there be a specific authority for citizenship determination at birth registration? • What are the considerations for the legal framework to implement citizenship determination at birth registration? • What mechanism should be put in place to ensure due process—including lawful and predictable referrals mechanism, transparency, accountability and redress—for a citizenship determination at birth registration? • What are the minimal safeguards that should be made available and should be implemented to prevent and reduce statelessness and ensure citizenship for each child, if citizenship is determined at birth registration? • What data should be collected at birth registration to facilitate a determination on citizenship, if one is to be made? • What training protocols are appropriate for the entity making a citizenship determination at birth registration? 26