N AT I O N A L I N Q U I R Y R E P O R T ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION For Human Dignity 6.2.7 Registration of Children Born to Parents of Indeterminate Nationality The National Inquiry gathered that children born to parents of indeterminate nationality135 have been denied the right to be registered at birth in Zimbabwe. Further, there are no legal provisions to guarantee that such children who are born in Zimbabwe are not at risk of statelessness. However, while Zimbabwe is a party to the 1954 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, it has not yet ratified or acceded to the 1961 United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. There is, therefore, no protection for these children to acquire the nationality of the territory in which they are born and these children remain un-documented136. 6.2.8 Enjoyment of Constitutionally Guaranteed Rights The evidence tendered clearly indicated that human rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution are violated due to lack of documentation. Enjoyment of a number of rights is linked to possession of national identity documents. The impact on the enjoyment of human rights is a great concern to ZHRC, whose core mandate is to ensure the enjoyment and protection of human rights. This calls for urgent attention to stem the negative impact, which has been felt by several generations of un-documented people. 6.3 Root Causes The National Inquiry gathered evidence on the root causes and factors that hinder ease of access to documentation. These root causes, as will be noted herein, have a major bearing on the various challenges that people have in terms of accessing documentation in Zimbabwe. 6.3.1 Absence of Parents A 43-year-old inmate from Chikurubi Prison testified that he had failed to get identity documents for his children, because the mother had left for Swaziland before they could register the children. His worry was that his eldest son was “angry” at him, because the lack of an ID had resulted in him missing employment opportunities and he was risking his life crossing the border illegally, for survival opportunities. Absence of parents who have the primary responsibility of registering children due to death, migration or unknown whereabouts means that there is no one to facilitate the registration. Parental absenteeism has resulted in non-documentation. The percentage of unknown whereabouts of parents from submissions received was nine point three per cent (9.3%) out of thirty-eight point five per cent (38.5%) of people who indicated challenges under social and cultural norms. Numerous cases were heard of un-documented children left in the custody of relatives who the DRG turned away without registration because parents were required to be present. 6.3.2 Lack of Supporting Documents Lack of supporting documents such as birth confirmation records, birth certificates and national identity documents required to facilitate acquisition of other documents was also noted as a challenge. Lack of birth confirmation records137 was mostly caused by health institutions withholding birth confirmation records due to failure to pay hospital debts. This practice does not take into consideration the best interests of the child who has a right to birth registration in view of the fact that payment of hospital bills is a contractual obligation between the parent and health institution. Submissions received indicated that two point two per cent (2.2%) out of thirty-eight per cent (38%) of people citing registration issues stated that their birth records were withheld by health institutions. See Chapter 4, Special Interest group on Refugee section. This category includes asylum seekers whose refugee applications have been rejected, Rwandan refugees whose refugee status has ceased and are not willing to return to their country and Mozambican asylum seekers whose refugee status has not been determined. 136 In line with Zimbabwe’s obligations as a party to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child to guarantee that “a child shall acquire the nationality of the State in the territory of which he has been born if, at the time of the child's birth, he is not granted nationality by any other State in accordance with its laws”. 137 Lack of birth confirmation records was also prevalent in cases were children were born outside the country especially in South Africa. 135 50 50