A critical analysis of South Africa's obligation to grant nationality to stateless children under treaty law

A stateless person is someone who is not recognised by the operation of state laws as a national of any state in the world. Literature has shown that a lack of nationality presents significant barriers to accessing basic rights, thus making nationality a prerequisite for the enjoyment of basic rights. Therefore, there is uncertainty as to whether in the absence of nationality, stateless children can effectively access basic rights. To this end, it has been argued that since the appearance of nationality is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of rights, granting nationality to all stateless children would be an effective solution. However, before advancing this argument, it must be determined whether there is an obligation on South Africa to grant nationality to stateless children. By critically analysing the treaty framework at the United Nations level and the African Union level, this article argues that treaty law does not provide a right to nationality, it merely makes provision for the acquisition of nationality. Moreover, this article critically analyses the framing of nationality under treaty law to determine the extent, if any, of South Africa's obligation to grant nationality to stateless children. A critical analysis shows that none of the treaties impose an explicit and binding obligation on South Africa to grant nationality to all stateless children.