Birth Registration and Statelessness in the Member States of the Southern Africa Development Community

This report focuses on the nexus between birth registration, citizenship and statelessness in the 16 member states of the SADC. The intention is to take stock of the status and performance of the 16 SADC member states'13 birth registration systems by analysing legislation governing birth registration against a selected set of benchmarks, considering fundamental legal safeguards for preventing statelessness in civil registration legislation. The report also identifies innovative practices, trends and gaps in programming for achieving birth registration for all.