Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
The plight of stateless children
JOSE Neves Pedro was born in the Johannesburg General Hospital on February 7, 1996. Issued only a hospital letter and handwritten birth certificate without an ID number, Pedro is one of thousands of stateless persons living in South Africa.
Born to refugee parents who fled the Angolan civil war, the 25-year-old has no legal documentation to his name. Without an ID number Pedro cannot access his basic human right to work, or study.
Pedro said that his attempts to seek help from the South African Human Rights Commission offices in Braamfontein were in vain. He said he handed his information to them in 2018 and had not heard from them since.
The South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995, which governs how one obtains or loses citizenship, has a provision that states that children that are born to migrants in South Africa and have lived in in the country until they turn 18 or older and have birth certificates, can apply for citizenship.
Dr Rebecca Walker, an independent research consultant at the African Centre for Migration & Society at the Wits Universtity, said the biggest issue with regards to children being denied citizenship was that it results in the infringement on their basic human rights which is unconstitutional.
“The biggest issue here is that children are denied access to schools when they do not have documentation, which although is unconstitutional is common practice. Or they are admitted and then cannot write matric exams. This of course has a devastating effect on their lives and futures,” she said.
Walker emphasised on the importance of challenging the “xenophobic assumption, that parents come to South Africa to have children so that they can access documents and welfare for their children”.
She added that there was no evidence in research to suggest this is the case.
Thandeka Chauke, who leads the Stateless Unit at Lawyers for Human Rights, said the project was the first and only of its kind in the country.
The project was launched in 2011, following an influx of queries regarding citizenship – the most common queries being related to birth registration. Chauke explained that the main cause of statelessness is the lack of an efficient civil registration system.
“The regulation that deals with the process of how a person obtains a birth certificate states that for children born to refugees and permanent residents should be issued with a birth certificate that has an identity number. In practise however, this doesn't happen because the regulations are in fact almost impossible to implement.
“For the child to be issued a birth certificate with an ID number, they would first need to be joined to their parents asylum file before they obtain an identity number,” said Chauke.
She added that if Home Affairs had integrated systems, once those children were born they would be able to acquire their relevant documents.
“The law says that every child born in South Africa has the right to birth registration, this is confirmed by Section 28 of the Constitution. This includes children of citizens and children of non-citizens.
“We find that xenophobic and racist sentiments and attitudes do affect Home Affairs officials’ perceptions and understanding of who is entitled to documentation and what kind of documentation they should be issued with.”
Meanwhile, since the president declared a national state of emergency, which was followed by a national lockdown last year, the Refugee Reception Offices had not yet opened their doors to the public.
With already pre-existing challenges with the department, refugees and asylum seekers are concerned about their livelihoods.
Refugee Social Services director Yasmin Rajah said the delays served as an open season for harassment.
“Asylum seekers' permits are only valid for approximately three or six months. If we do a rough estimation from the time Home Affairs closed their doors, I think it’s safe to say that the majority of asylum seekers have expired documentation. This becomes a serious problem because they are undocumented and people are prompt to harass them.
“Just like Trump's wall, South Africa has its own invisible one between foreign nationals and the system,” said Rajah.
Ugandan Bolt driver, who wished to stay anonymous, explained his grief saying “because of my expired permit, I've been having difficulty obtaining UIF. Till this day, as we speak, I still haven’t received any UIF money. Any time I clarify that the Refugee Reception Office extended their deadline, they are not able to assist me.”
Home Affairs spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza said the Minister Aaron Motsoaledi had issued a directive which extended the validity of the asylum and refugee permits.