not afford to go to a hospital and did not have birth registration documents. Because of their own unregistered status, the midwives fear giving birth notices to the registry offices. Consequently, children born in the informal settlement are not registered as legal citizens, putting them at risk of becoming stateless like their parents. On 23 April 2013 the then Minister of Home Affairs stated that mothers who give birth at home should be allowed to register their children at registry offices.94 However, the reality is different for many mothers such as Siphilisiwe. Her children and grandchildren remain without birth certificates and therefore cannot access high school. She told Amnesty: “my husband has identity documents, but we were told that only the mother who gave birth to the children can obtain their birth certificates. I feel responsible for my children’s predicament because I am unable to secure their birth certificates as I do not have papers (identity documents) myself.” Lack of access to health care provision is not limited to pregnant and stateless women. Stateless people in general also struggle to access other health care services in Zimbabwe because they lack identity documents. Registry offices must relax their regulations on notification of birth to prevent statelessness of poor and vulnerable children whose parents cannot afford their birth registration. 10.3 RIGHT TO WORK Article 6 of the ICESCR provides that everyone has the right to the opportunity to gain their living by work of their choice.95 However, many stateless people in Zimbabwe face difficulties in exercising the right to decent employment as guaranteed in the ICESCR because their lack of identity documents prevents them from pursuing advanced educational qualifications. As a result, stateless people find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and marginalization due to the lack of employment opportunities. Most can only secure precarious and low paid work on farms or in gold, chrome or nickel mines. Margaret Nkomo from Mazwi village was born to a Malawian father who migrated to Zimbabwe before independence for economic reasons.96 She therefore has no birth certificate or identity document and has never been to school. Without an ID, she cannot secure any formal employment. She told Amnesty International that: “I would only work on a part-time basis for short periods because employers are reluctant to employ a person without an ID. Every time I visited the registry office in Bulawayo I was told to bring my relatives, who are in Malawi. I have given up any hope of securing an ID so that I may be employed.” The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) helped Margaret’s family move from the Ngozi slum to Mazwi village, 40kms from Bulawayo, but without an identity document Margaret has no title deed for her home. She fears that “without title to the house built for me by the local authority in partnership with the IOM I may lose my property.” Lazarus Tshabalala, who also lives at Mazwi village, is able to obtain only menial and unskilled employment because he does not have an identity document. His late father was from Malawi. He told Amnesty International that: “If I had an ID and a birth certificate, I would have also obtained a passport and travelled to South Africa in search of employment.” He added: “I’m tired of my life of poverty in Zimbabwe.” 94 https://nehandaradio.com/2013/04/24/statement-by-home-affairs-minister-on-civic-registration-of-citizens-in-zimbabwe/ The Minister of Home Affairs also stated that people with IDs endorsed with the classification “alien” should be allowed to vote because they are Zimbabweans and that if a person’s documents are accidentally burnt, they must be replaced without any payment of fees. 95 See article 6 of the ICESCR 96 Interview with Margaret Nkomo from Mazwi village WE ARE LIKE “STRAY ANIMALS” THOUSANDS LIVING ON THE MARGINS DUE TO STATELESSNESS IN ZIMBABWE Amnesty International 33