F KHAN PER / PELJ 2020 (23) 3 the most part) cannot act on a right autonomously, social theorists have questioned whether or not it is necessary for children to have rights.5 Choice theorists, for example, believe that because children are too young to exercise their rights, they should not be given rights. 6 However, this reasoning is flawed if it is applied to those who are mentally ill. An argument that opposes rights entitlements simply because of a child's age is thus without merit. Though parents have the primary duty of care in the lives of their children, they may not be able to effectively care for their children, especially if their children are not recognised as rights bearers by a state.7 On the other hand, interest theory, which conflicts with choice theory, holds that rights should be given to children because it is an effective way of protecting their interests.8 Tobin captures the overall rationale for using a rights-based approach for children's issues when he writes:9 [u]ltimately the fundamental aim of a rights-based approach is to transform the way in which States (and indeed all other actors that impact on the enjoyment of children's rights) perform their role by demanding that every issue is examined and responded to through a human rights lens. The "children as bearers of rights" approach is adopted because the human rights approach is strongly advocated as a tool for the prevention of statelessness by several scholars.10 Moreover, because the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)11 and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC)12 will be used as the normative framework, this article endorses a children's rights perspective. The human rights approach is based on the four general principles of the CRC, namely nondiscrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life, survival, and development, and the right to be heard.13 Both the CRC and the ACRWC provide children with a series of rights, most significantly, within the context of this paper, the right to a nationality.14 Both instruments recognise children as the bearers of rights rather than mere objects of protection.15 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Human "Theory of Children's Rights". Archard "Children's Rights". Archard "Children's Rights". Archard "Children's Rights". Tobin "Understanding a Human Rights Based Approach to Matters Involving Children". See Sloth-Nielsen and Mezmur 2007 AHRLJ and Liefaard and Sloth-Nielsen United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) 1577 UNTS 3 (hereafter the CRC). African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) (hereafter ACRWC). Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No 5: General Measures of Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child UN Doc CRC/GC/2003/5 (2003) (hereafter General Comment No 5) para 6. Article 7 of the CRC; Art 6 of the ACRWC. Van Bueren International Law on the Rights of the Child.