Exploring the Interface Between Birth Registration and Citizenship Determination: A Scoping Study in Seven Countries in Southern Africa Article 10 of the ACHPR Protocol on eradication of statelessness in Africa: 1. A State Party shall, in accordance with its national law, ensure that: a. the birth of every child is immediately registered; b. every child is attributed a nationality at birth or acquires a nationality as soon as possible thereafter. 2. A State Party shall ensure that in all judicial or administrative proceedings affecting the nationality of a child who is capable of communicating his or her own views, an opportunity shall be provided for the views of the child to be heard, either directly or through a representative, as a party to the proceedings, and those views shall be taken into consideration by the competent authority in accordance with the provisions of appropriate national law. The power to regulate citizenship is an essential attribute of state sovereignty. However, international law imposes some limitations on the right of states to regulate citizenship. For example, international law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race or gender on granting, loss and deprivation of citizenship.7 International law also limits states' right to regulate citizenship when national laws may result in statelessness. Specifically, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness8 aims to prevent statelessness and reduce it over time. It requires that states establish safeguards in their citizenship laws to prevent statelessness at birth and reduce it later in life. Articles 1 and 2 are essential to prevent statelessness. Article 1 establishes that children are to acquire the citizenship of the country in which they are born if they cannot acquire any other nationality. Article 2 requires that “A foundling found in the territory of a Contracting State shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be considered to have been born within that territory of parents possessing the nationality of that State.” b. Legal Concepts: Citizenship and Birth Registration While every child has the right to acquire a nationality/citizenship9 from birth, birth registration and nationality determination have traditionally been treated as two separate processes, particularly in national systems that predominantly rely on jus sanguinis (right of blood) for the attribution of nationality at birth. On a national level, the two processes have been governed by separate laws and separate “competent authorities.”10 Specifically, the right to citizenship is in many countries governed by a country’s constitution and citizenship laws, which may also designate the competent authority responsible for citizenship determinations, as well as stipulating formal processes. The right to birth registration, on the other hand, is governed by civil registration laws, which designate civil registration authorities and processes. This section describes general legal principles of citizenship and processes for citizenship attribution or acquisition, as well as best practices in birth registration, including linkage to national identity systems, and the relevance of birth registration data for citizenship determination. 10