HARVARD  HUMAN  RIGHTS  JOURNAL  ONLINE          JANUARY  2015   Civil  Registration   Imperfect   birth   registration   systems   are   one   factor   preventing   children   from   enjoying  the  right  to  a  nationality.  Birth  registration  is  the  process  by  which  a  child’s   birth  is  recorded  in  a  civil  register  by  the  applicable  government  authority,  allowing   verification  of  each  child’s  identity,  age,  and  status  as  a  child.13  Registration  protects   children’s  access  to  the  rights  guaranteed  to  them  under  international  law,  including   the  right  to  education14  and  the  right  to  be  free  from  exploitation.15  It  is  important  to   differentiate   between   non-­‐‑registration   of   birth   and   statelessness.   A   child   usually   acquires   nationality   automatically,   or   ex   lege,   upon   birth,   rather   than   at   the   registration   of   birth.16   The   birth   certificate   simply   assists   in   confirming   a   child’s   nationality,  as  it  provides  proof  of  birth  in  a  country’s  territory  (jus  soli)  or  by  descent   (jus  sanguinis)—the  two  primary  means  by  which  states  grant  nationality  at  birth.17       Many   children   who   become   stateless   because   of   non-­‐‑registration   are,   according  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  entitled  to  receive  the  nationality  of  their  parents  or   of  the  place  of  their  birth.  However,  when  a  child’s  birth  goes  unregistered,  the  child   lacks   evidence   of   her   right   to   a   nationality,   thus   creating   the   risk   that   the   state   (or   other  social  institutions)  may  ultimately  refuse  to  acknowledge  her  as  its  national.  If   authorities   refuse   to   confirm   a   child’s   nationality,   or   if   the   State   refuses   to   confirm   the   nationality   of   unregistered   children   as   a   matter   of   practice,18   the   child   is   considered  stateless.19     Discrimination  against  unwed  parents  and  their  children                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     UN  Human  Rights  Council  recently  reaffirmed  the  duty  of  governments  to  make  universal   registration  a  reality.  Human  Rights  Council  Res.  19/9,  Birth  Registration  and  the  Right  of  Everyone  to   Recognition  Everywhere  as  a  Person  before  the  Law,  19th  Sess.,  Apr.  3,  2012,  U.N.  Doc.   A/HRC/RES/19/9  (Mar.  22,  2012).   12  To  date,  Oman,  Qatar,  Saudi  Arabia,  and  the  United  Arab  Emirates  have  yet  to  ratify  the  ICCPR.   13  PLAN  INTERNATIONAL,  UNIVERSAL  BIRTH  REGISTRATION  –  A  UNIVERSAL  RESPONSIBILITY  11  (2005).   14  CRC,  supra  note  10,  art.  28;  International  Covenant  on  Economic,  Social  and  Cultural  Rights,  art.  13,   opened  for  signature  Dec.  16,  1966,  993  U.N.T.S.  3.   15  CRC,  supra  note  10,  arts.  32–36;  UNICEF,  BIRTH  REGISTRATION  RIGHT  FROM  THE  START  5  (2002),   http://www.unicef-­‐‑irc.org/publications/pdf/digest9e.pdf.   16  U.N.  High  Comm.  for  Refugees,  Guidelines  on  Statelessness  No.  1:  The  Definition  of  "ʺStateless  Person"ʺ  in   Article  1(1)  of  the  1954  Convention  Relating  to  the  Status  of  Stateless  Persons,  ¶  27,  U.N.  Doc.   HCR/GS/12/01  (Feb.  20,  2012).   17  LAURA  VAN  WAAS,  NATIONALITY  MATTERS:  STATELESSNESS  UNDER  INTERNATIONAL  LAW  153  (2008).     18  In  Lebanon,  if  parents  do  not  complete  the  complicated  Lebanese  birth  registration  requirement   within  one  year,  the  children  are  regarded  as  non-­‐‑nationals  and  must  initiate  a  lawsuit  in  order  to   prove  their  nationality.  During  the  course  of  the  lawsuit,  they  are  considered  non-­‐‑nationals.  Comm.   on  the  Rights  of  the  Child,  Third  Periodic  Reports  of  States  Parties  due  in  2003,  Lebanon,  U.N.  Doc.   CRC/C/129/Add.7  (Oct.  25,  2005);    Patricia  Mouamar,  Lebanese  children  live  and  die  as  if  they  never   existed,  WORLD  VISION  (May  12,  2014),  http://www.wvi.org/child-­‐‑health-­‐‑now/article/lebanese-­‐‑ children-­‐‑live-­‐‑and-­‐‑die-­‐‑if-­‐‑they-­‐‑never-­‐‑existed.    Id.   19 3       Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2547550