Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable - Unicef

Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable children in SA
There is the danger that the proposed amendments contained in these two Bills, whilst
they may reduce fraud, will make the birth registration process more onerous, especially
for the most vulnerable of children, such as those living in poverty in rural areas and
those living with families affected by HIV/AIDS.
Births and Deaths Registration Amendment Bill
This Bill proposes a number of amendments to the birth registration process which will
have an impact on the ability of caregivers, especially of vulnerable children, to register
their births.
The Bill proposes that the birth of a child may only be registered by one of the child’s
parents, unless the parents are deceased. At present, the Act allows an alternative person
to register the birth of a child if the parent(s) are unable to register the birth themselves.
This raises concern in the case of absent parents or the case of parents being too ill to
register the birth of their baby.
The Bill appears to reduce the time allowed for the early, as opposed to the late, registration
of the birth of a baby. The current law regards any registration before the age of one year
as an early birth registration and imposes an already onerous process and set of criteria
on applicants seeking to register the birth after one year. Article 4 of the Bill reduces the
time within which an early registration may take place from one year to 30 days after the
birth, and further envisages an even more onerous late birth registration process after the
30-day period has expired. This creates the risk of frustrating the registration of the birth of
vulnerable children whose births are not registered within 30 days of their birth.
Article 6 of the Bill does, however, seek to introduce some relief for vulnerable children
who have lost their parents, by allowing for the registration of the birth of an orphaned
or abandoned child by a social worker. Moreover, the Bill seeks to make provision for
recording adoptions in the birth register in accordance with an adoption order granted by
the court. The latter provision is one among a number which seek to align the terms and
provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act with the Children’s Act of 2005.
South African Citizenship Amendment Bill
The main objective of the Bill is to revise the provision in the South African Citizenship
Act of 1995 relating to the acquisition of citizenship by birth, descent or naturalisation.
The Bill provides for the acquisition of citizenship by birth for a child born outside the
Republic of South Africa, but whose parents, or one of whom, is a South African citizen.
The Bill confirms that if a child is born in South Africa to parents, one of whom lives in
South Africa but has not been granted permanent residence and the other who is not a
South African citizen, the child is not a South African citizen.
The Bill introduces a progressive measure in guaranteeing the right of a child with no
citizenship or nationality and no right to such citizenship or nationality in any other
country, the right to South African citizenship.
Furthermore, the Bill recognises a child born to parents who have been granted
permanent residence status, as a South African citizen by birth, provided the child has
lived in South Africa from birth to the age of majority and his or her birth is registered in
the NPR. The Bill further provides that an adopted child acquires citizenship by descent.
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