CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY 2020 Weaknesses in nationality administration Weak civil registration systems Birth registration is the foundation for nationality administration, but six of the 16 SADC countries have birth registration rates of less than 50% of those under five years old, while the percentage holding birth certificates is generally lower. Older children and adults tend to have even lower rates of registration. The vital need for due process, including both administrative and judicial review and appeal Documents attesting to nationality are ever more important for individuals to access their other rights. It is critical that decisions made by officials to deny or refuse to renew a document are subject to review and appeal not only by other officials, but also by the courts. As affirmed by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the Anudo judgment (see heading below: The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights), when a person has previously been treated as a national, including holding documents attesting nationality, the burden of proof should fall on the state to prove that the person is not entitled to hold that document. The lack, in some countries, of a document that is conclusive proof of nationality Only in Madagascar among the SADC states does a person have the right to obtain from a court a certificate of nationality that is proof of that status unless overturned by another court. Without such a possibility, a person from a group facing discrimination may be required to prove entitlement to nationality each time an application is made for identity documents, even in case of renewal. Discriminatory vetting procedures can exclude legitimate applicants All states have procedures to verify a person’s entitlement to nationality. However, where higher standards of proof are applied to certain communities – including requirements to produce documents that many cannot be expected to hold – then members of that community without connections or access to lawyers and other assistance may be excluded from recognition of nationality, even if they fulfil all the conditions in fact. Naturalisation is only available to a very few The discretionary nature, high costs, and heavy procedural requirements attached to naturalisation means that regular naturalisation procedures is only accessible to a small elite. The exceptional programmes initiated by Tanzania for certain Burundian refugees, and by Namibia for long-term residents, should be replicated for other groups whose only meaningful ties are to the country of residence. Costs can obstruct access to nationality documentation While official fees for birth registration, identity documents and nationality certification are mostly reasonable, they can still create barriers for the poorest people. The fees charged by intermediaries who facilitate applications, transport costs, and the many hours of lost time waiting for documents to be issued put them out of reach for many more. UNHCR / December, 2020 58