. . (d) Strengthen and expand mobile birth registration to reach universal coverage, in particular for registering children born outside of health facilities and children who have never been registered; and (e) Increase public awareness of the importance of birth registration and the process by which births are registered.10 Snapshot of Statelessness in Tanzania 16. UNHCR does not have an accurate estimate of the number of stateless persons in Tanzania, and Tanzania lacks statistics on the number of stateless people, or those at risk of statelessness. However, there are numerous communities at risk of statelessness, who consequently face barriers to accessing social services and to enjoy basic rights. 17. Moreover, the ongoing exercise of issuing national identification cards to citizens in Tanzania is likely to expose more people to the risk of being stateless. A large number of people specifically in the border regions have been experiencing difficulties in obtaining National ID cards due to strict vetting processes aimed at preventing foreigners from irregularly acquiring Tanzanian citizenship. They are consequently left without any documentation to prove Tanzanian citizenship.11 Birth registration rates are improving, though registration rates remain low in some regions, including in border regions. This increases the risk of statelessness as birth certificates are compulsory supporting documents when applying for national IDs.12 18. Below are some of the profiles of groups at risk of statelessness, and the main factors that may lead to their statelessness or increase their risk of statelessness in Tanzania. 19. People in long term migration situations are at risk of being stateless due to prolonged loss of connection with their country of origin. Tanzania has been hosting refugees for over sixty years, some of whom have been in the country for over four decades without a chance of returning to their countries of origin. These include the 1972 Burundian refugees pending naturalisation. Another affected group are the children of Rwandan refugees whose parents were naturalised in 1983 but who, due to lack of awareness of the legal procedures, did not naturalise when they turned 18. These people consider themselves to be Tanzanian. These populations are at risk of statelessness due to prolonged loss of connection with their country of origin. 20. The Tanzania Citizenship Act CAP 357 (R.E.2002) does not contain a safeguard to provide Tanzanian nationality to all children born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless. Childhood statelessness can arise among children whose parents are stateless or when a foreign mother cannot confer her nationality on the child and the father is unknown.13 Despite efforts to make birth registration accessible to all children born in Tanzania, some children remain at risk of statelessness due to lack of access to birth registration. Numerous factors including fees, and distances to registry offices, especially for those in rural areas, and lack of awareness surrounding the importance of 10 CRC, ‘Concluding observations on the combined third to fifth periodic reports of the United Republic of Tanzania’ CRC/C/TZA/CO/3-5 (3 March 2015). 11 https://www.ippmedia.com/en/news/pm%C2%A0-tight-id-card-filing-border-regions-right 12 https://www.rita.go.tz/files/news/Birth%20Certification%20Rate-Notes_FINAL%20VESION.pdf. 13 For instance, in the nationality law of 25 countries, women do not have equal rights as men to confer their nationality upon their child. For more information, please see: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2020, 14 July 2020, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5f0d7b934.html. 4