The role of religious leaders in addressing statelessness

Описание: On 15 December 2023, H.E. Buti Tlhagale, Archbishop of Johannesburg and spokesperson of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), sat down for an interview with ICMC to discuss statelessness, migration, and the role of faith-based organizations in bringing positive change for migrants.

SACBC is ICMC’s member in South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini. Since 2018, SACBC’s Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees has addressed the needs and challenges of refugees and migrants in the Southern Africa region.

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What is the role of religious leaders in addressing statelessness?

Firstly, religious leaders should seek to influence and appeal to governments to subscribe to the major UN treaties. For children, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires States to register children whose parents are unknown on their territory. This means providing them with a birth certificate so that they can later obtain the official identity documents that will enable them to work, live, and be protected just like any other citizen. The issue is that some governments are not prepared to accept foreign nationals because they already have so many problems in meeting their own citizens’ needs.

Religious leaders can also raise awareness at the community level, in communities where children are born without birth certificates, to try to avoid a situation of lack of registration. The only way to reduce the number of unregistered children in coming generations is to introduce a law that obliges people to register their children, that is fully implemented and monitored. If religious leaders can help to solve the problem at a community level, we are helping both the state and the population.