e. Intends, if his application is granted, to reside permanently in Lesotho, or to establish his domicile of choice in Lesotho, subject to necessary absences from Lesotho in the course of his employment or selfemployment.” 26. It is important to note that there are no provisions for granting citizenship to foundlings in either the Constitution or the Citizenship Order and as a consequence children found in Lesotho and who appear to have been born in Lesotho are not afforded the right to a nationality at birth. 27. Children who are stateless will not have access to citizenship until after they attain adulthood. Living your entire childhood as a stateless person is contrary to the principle of the best interests of the child and can undermine the child’s access to various human rights including access to education and healthcare. 28. It should also be noted that the requirement for stateless persons to have legal status in Lesotho for at least three years before making an application for nationality can prove difficult, as it often hard for stateless persons to get a residence permit in Lesotho. Citizenship by descent in the second generation born outside of Lesotho 29. Two of the main issues concerning the right to nationality in Southern Africa include a failure to integrate historical and contemporary migrants (whether forced or voluntary) and their descendants, and discrimination - in law or in fact - on the basis of gender, race or ethnicity (whether against migrants, or people who have never moved).25 30. According to Article 39 of the Constitution of Lesotho, a Lesotho citizen born abroad cannot pass on their nationality to their children who are also born abroad, a situation which could lead to statelessness if the child is not recognised by the State in which the child is born in. Gender discrimination and discrimination based on marital status of parent. 31. Article 40 of the Constitution states that: “(1) Any woman who immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution [in 1993], is or has been married to a person- (a) who continues to be a citizen of Lesotho by virtue of section 37 of this constitution; or (b) who having died before the coming into operation of this Constitution would, but for his death, have continued to be a citizen of Lesotho by virtue of that section, shall be entitled, upon making application and upon taking the oath of allegiance, to be registered as a citizen of Lesotho. (2) Any woman who, after the coming into operation of this Constitution, 25 Manby B (2011) “Statelessness in Southern Africa” Briefing paper for UNHCR Regional Conference on Statelessness in Southern Africa Mbombela (Nelspruit) also available at https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/50c1f9562.pdf. 8