Deidre, 8, has no country to call her own

A CHERUBIC eight-year-old Cape Town girl has no country she can call home.

Born to Cuban parents in South Africa she is stateless and will remain so in spite of a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that she be given a South African identity.

Little Deidre* is one of 109 known cases of stateless children in South Africa.

In Deidre’s case, the court ruled the Department of Home Affairs had to give her citizenship within 30 days of its September 6 judgment. It also ordered the minister to amend section 2 (2) of the Citizenship Act within 18 months, making it easier for other stateless children to apply for citizenship. This section allows children born in South Africa of foreign parents to obtain South African citizenship if they do not qualify for the citizenship of any other country.

But the department hit back, turning to the courts for a rescission, or cancellation, of a 2014 high court order declaring the child a citizen.

Lawyers For Human Rights, which is representing Deidre and has taken on the cases of eight other stateless youngsters, was told of the rescission application on October 7, a day after the child’s birth certificate was to have been issued. It is opposing the rescission and has started a Twitter campaign asking users to tweet minister Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) to urge him to issue Deidre’s birth certificate.

Home affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said: “An application for rescission has been brought in respect of the high court order that was obtained in this matter on July 3 2014.

“The high court order was obtained as a result of erroneous information placed before the court that the minor child was unable to obtain Cuban citizenship . . . The true facts have since emerged that the child is entitled to apply for Cuban citizenship. Therefore, any suggestion that the minister . . . is in contempt of the Supreme Court of Appeal order is ill-conceived.”

Liesl Muller, head of LHR’s statelessness unit, said: “This is a precedent-setting case. The provision [section 2 (2)] has been in our law for 20 years. But it’s never been implemented. Our order also compels the minister to make regulations that will make the section even more accessible.”

Deidre became stateless because Cuban law does not grant children citizenship if they are born abroad to parents regarded

The thing I want is for her to be Cuban . . . but she was born here

as “permanent emigrants” — those who work abroad for more than 11 months.

Deidre’s parents, both engineers, came to work in South Africa on a treaty programme and were unaware of the law until after the child was born. They turned to the courts after home affairs refused Deidre citizenship, claiming the child was not stateless.

Said Muller: “Without a birth certificate or ID document [stateless children] have trouble accessing education, healthcare, social grants and travel documents.

“When a stateless child becomes a stateless adult, they are at risk of arrest and deportation, cannot legally work or study, open a bank account or vote.”

Deidre’s mother said: “I am Cuban; the first thing I want is for her to be Cuban . . . but she was born here.” * Not her real name