Exploring the Interface Between Birth Registration and Citizenship Determination: A Scoping Study in Seven Countries in Southern Africa

Every child has a right to birth registration and a right to a citizenship from birth. In recent years, many countries in Africa have begun to link their civil registration systems and their national identity systems to streamline identity management and to implement the right to legal identity for all (Sustainable Development Goal Target 16.9). Based on research in seven countries in Southern Africa (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, the Republic of Congo and South Africa), it appears that these linkages have in some countries resulted in civil registrars making a citizenship determination at the time of birth registration. Such practices are implemented even though civil registration authorities often lack the legal mandate, formal processes, and procedures needed to execute this function/role. Specifically, this analysis explored the legal basis, implications, and rationale for intertwining these two processes—a practice that has emerged without necessarily being deliberately intended. This analysis finds six of the seven countries have informal, non-standardized and non-transparent processes for citizenship determination at birth registration, without procedures for appeal if citizenship is denied. These practices increase the risk of rendering children stateless as they might wrongly be denied their right to citizenship without a pathway for appeal.

This report is a joint initiative between Vital Strategies and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).