STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY as well as “any other document or […] any certificate that the Registrar may in his sole discretion require”.83 In practice, a birth cannot be registered late unless the parent (or the person him/herself, if over 18) has an ID card, meaning that the births of those who do not have proof of Kenyan citizenship are not registered if not carried out within the six month statutory time limit. Moreover, an ID card cannot now be obtained without a birth registration. The department aims to make late registration of births more difficult to access, after an effort to provide late registration for those not currently registered, in order to close off what is seen to be an avenue for fraud.84 Obtaining birth registration was for many years a major struggle even for orphans of parents known to be Kenyan, whose Kenyan citizenship should not have been in doubt. This situation improved after a campaign led by groups working with AIDS orphans, with the 2008 issue of a directive from the Department of Civil Registration aiming to facilitate late registration by orphans and vulnerable children.85 However, difficulties remain. Among groups that have had difficulty registering births are children born out of wedlock, especially where the father did not recognise the child. In June 2016 the High Court ruled that fathers’ names must be included in birth registration records, and a certificate issued, even if born out of wedlock.86 Children of refugee parents may face particular difficulties in accessing birth registration, although UNHCR will seek where possible to work with the authorities to facilitate civil registration for refugees. Where this is successful it may even be the case that rates of birth registration among refugees are higher than for the surrounding population.87 Birth registration for the children of IDPs may be even more challenging, since the support of international agencies tends to be less available. National identity cards The EAC treaty framework provides for all Partner States of the EAC to have a common form of national identity document (see below, heading on the EAC). In line with this requirement, national identity cards are being upgraded to include biometric identification features in Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi, and are being introduced for the first time in Uganda and Tanzania, as well as in South Sudan.88 Although a national identity card is not usually formal proof of nationality, it functions as such for day-to-day purposes. Once an identity system is implemented, access to all government services, employment and benefits, financial services and employment in the formal economy, and ownership of real property typically depend on holding an identity card; and some of them depend on that card confirming citizenship.89 Given that identity card applications are usually treated in the first instance by quite low-ranking civil servants, this gives the power to determine someone’s right to proof of nationality—for practical if not legal purposes—to a person who is almost certainly not trained in nationality law, although doubtful cases are often referred to committees for approval. Complaints mechanisms may exist within the identity card management system for those whose applications are wrongfully rejected, but they are often quite 83 As detailed in Form No. I. G.P. 138 A, available at: http://www.immigration.go.ke/downloads/GP138AApplication%20for%20Registration%20of%20a%20Late%20Birth.pdf. 84 Interview, Director of Civil Registration, Nairobi, 14 June 2016. 85 “Issuance of birth certificates for children in SOS and charitable children’s institution”, Department of Civil Registration, letter addressed to the Director, Children’s Services, Nairobi, 8 May 2008. 86 See commentary by Samantha Oswago and Wangari Karige, “Must a Father’s Name be on the Birth Certificate of a Child?”, Kituo Cha Sheria, 6 June 2016, available at: https://kituochasheria.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/must-a-fathers-name-be-on-the-birthcertificate-of-a-child/. 87 For general information, and the example of Kenya, see “Child Protection Issue Brief: Birth Registration”, UNHCR, August 2013, available at: http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/523fe9214.pdf. 88 See Study of Options for Mutual Recognition of National IDs in the East African Community, World Bank and EAC Secretariat, 2018. 89 28 See Bronwen Manby, Citizenship in Africa: The Law of Belonging, Hart Publishing, 2018, Chapters 6 and 10. UNHCR / September 2018