Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2020 2(1) amendments did not come into force until January 2013, Gaddiel’s siblings both benefited from an application of the unamended provisions of the SACA and were registered as South African citizens by birth. 29 Gaddiel was born in 2017 and, as such, his status is governed by the amended s 2 of the SACA. 30 The amended s 2 of the SACA sets out three routes to citizenship. The first is to be born either within or outside South Africa to a parent who is a South African citizen. 31 This route is not open to Gaddiel since neither of his parents were South African citizens at the time of his birth. 32 The second route applies to a person who is not a citizen or national of any other country or has no right to such citizenship or nationality and who is registered in accordance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act. 33 Currently Gaddiel is stateless as he does not have South African nationality and was born after his parents had renounced their Congolese nationality. Having never lived in the DRC and without his parents being Congolese citizens, Gaddiel is not eligible for Congolese citizenship. The third route is open to a person who was born in South Africa to parents with permanent residency in South Africa, and who has lived his or her whole life in South Africa. 34 As per the 2010 amendments to the SACA, applications can only be made by those who have attained the age of majority. 35 Under this route, Gaddiel would have to wait until March 2035 before he could apply for citizenship. B The Interplay between ss 2(2) and 2(3) of the SACA The 2010 amendment to the SACA restricts the right to citizenship under s 2(3) to those who have reached the age of majority. 36 The judge’s obiter comments highlight that the route to citizenship available to Gaddiel under s 2(3) of the SACA is a breach of his constitutional right to nationality because it ‘was not in accordance with the right of the child to a nationality as set out in s 28(1)(a) of the Constitution’. 37 South Africa is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (‘CRC’). 38 The CRC was, in fact, the first treaty the new democratic government ratified. It is not surprising that the language of the Constitution, in force the following year, reflects the wording of art 7 of the CRC, which recognises that children have a right from birth to a name and to acquire a nationality. 39 Regional treaties such as the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (‘African Charter’), to which South Africa is also a party, confirm the rights enshrined in art 7 of the CRC. 40 The African Committee of Experts on the Rights 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Amendment Act (n 8). It appears that the sibling born in February 2013, after the 2010 amendment came into force, was treated as a citizen by birth in error. ibid. SACA (n 1) s 2(1)(b). Mulowayi (n 1) 3 [4]–[5]. SACA (n 1) s 2(2); Births and Deaths Registration Act (n 7). SACA (n 1) s 2(3). Amendment Act (n 8) s 2(3). ibid. Mulowayi (n 1) 7 [17]. Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 November 1989, 1577 UNTS 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990) (‘CRC’). ibid art 7; Constitution (n 15) s 28(1)(a). Organization of African Unity, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Doc No CAB/LEG/24.9/49(1990), 11 July 1990, art 6 (‘African Charter’); CRC (n 38) art 7. 182