Are the human rights of undocumented children in South Africa impacted?
- Although undocumented children in South Africa are protected by the Constitution, they are unfortunately faced with many challenges. Undocumented children can be described as children who are abandoned or not born from South African citizen parents, and who are faced that their birth not begin registered.
- Section 28 of the Constitution is very clear that the best interests of a child are of utmost important in any matter concerning a child. Section 29 of the Constitutions further provides that everyone has the right to a basic education (which includes children).
- It is from these human rights where two of the most concerning infringements of undocumented children's human rights arise:
- The right to a name and nationality from birth (section 28).
- The right to a basic education and not to be refused reasonable access to education.
- A High Court ruling has declared certain clauses of the Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools of 1998 unconstitutional. These clauses infringed on children's right to a basic education as it did not allow children to be admitted into a school if they do not have birth certificates or because of them begin non-citizens. This judgment opened the doors to ensure greater protection of undocumented children's human rights.
