Using the CRC to help protect children from statelessness in Serbia
Several categories of children are at risk of statelessness in the Republic of Serbia. These include children who have not been registered in birth registries, children of undetermined citizenship and those who were registered in registry books that were lost or remain unavailable to the authorities of Serbia. The great majority of these children belong to the Roma community, which lives in deep poverty and social exclusion, exposed to discriminatory treatment in almost every area of life. Statelessness and the risk of statelessness is an issue that the Republic of Serbia has made efforts to address.
Legislative changes and better practices have helped to both prevent new cases of statelessness and find solutions for persons who have been living without citizenship or proof of citizenship for many years. However, some gaps still remain, which must be addressed to fully resolve statelessness in Serbia. In particular, in order to prevent childhood statelessness and to fulfil obligations stemming from Serbia’s international obligations and its constitution, it is still necessary to ensure that every child is registered at birth without discrimination and regardless of the status of his/her parents.
In 2016, Praxis, the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) and the European Network on Statelessness (ENS) made a submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding Serbia’s compliance with Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which states that every child has the right to acquire a nationality. The report submitted by the state to the Committee did not address comments by Praxis related to still unresolved issues and the need for further improvements in exercising the right to birth registration and nationality, even though Praxis was asked to submit them by relevant state bodies. Hence, this submission was necessary in order to provide the Committee with further information to complement and fill out the gaps in the state report.
The Praxis, ISI and ENS submission highlighted challenges related to the exercise of the right of every child to acquire a nationality and the avoidance of childhood statelessness in Serbia as a result of discrimination, poor implementation of the law and challenges related to birth registration, as well as equal access to socio-economic rights and services.
Representatives of Praxis and ISI presented the submission before the Committee at the 74th Pre-Sessional Working Group, held in June 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland. Since all the relevant information was received in advance and on time, the submission and presentation process was conducted smoothly and efficiently. In addition, the assistance provided by Child Rights Connect through the participant registration process, briefing before the Pre-Sessional Working Group, and debriefing afterwards, was immensely useful. During the Pre-Sessional Working Group, Praxis and ISI provided responses to questions raised by the Committee on statelessness and related issues. The Committee members appeared to be aware of these issues in Serbia and were well prepared for the Working Group.
In light of the Committee’s previous recommendations to Serbia on the issue, state recommendations issued to Serbia during the second UPR cycle and the importance of the eradication of statelessness, Praxis engaged in this process in the hope that the Committee will raise the issue of the right of every child to acquire a nationality in its List of Issues for Serbia and subsequently address recommendations to the government of Serbia to further prevent and solve the problem of childhood statelessness in the country. The Committee's recommendations contribute to keeping the issue of child statelessness high on the state's agenda and, at the same time, they will be a strong advocacy tool for legal changes and improvement in protection framework. Praxis hopes that the state will take measures in accordance with relevant recommendations and hence, ensure prevention of statelessness at birth and full access to nationality related rights for everyone.
Even though CRC engagement is important, it also must be something which complements wider work on the issue, in order for it to be effective. There must be follow up on implementation, to ensure the state is making effective progress and implementing sustainable solutions. This entire process has been of extraordinary significance and the CRC is a very effective instrument with a far-reaching effect for any CSO aspiring to openly confront all issues connected to the problems children face in their respective countries.
