67 personality, because he has not established a juridical and political connection with any State; thus nationality is a prerequisite for recognition of juridical personality. 179. The Court considers that the failure to recognize juridical personality harms human dignity, because it denies absolutely an individual’s condition of being a subject of rights and renders him vulnerable to non-observance of his rights by the State or other individuals. 180. In this specific case, the State maintained the Yean and Bosico children in a legal limbo in which, even though the children existed and were inserted into a particular social context, their existence was not recognized juridically; in other words they did not have juridical personality. 181. With regard to the alleged violation of the right to a name established in Article 18 of the American Convention, it should be noted that, although this was not alleged by the Inter-American Commission, the Court has established that the alleged victims, their next of kin or their representatives can invoke different rights from those included in the Commission’s application, based on the facts presented by the latter.110 182. The right to a name, embodied in Article 18 of the American Convention, constitutes a basic and essential element of the identity of each individual, without which he cannot be recognized by society or registered before the State. This right is also established in several international instruments.111 183. Under Article 18 of the Convention, States are obliged not only to protect the right to a name, but also to provide the necessary measures to facilitate the registration of an individual, immediately after birth. 184. The State must also ensure that the individual is registered under the name that he or his parents have chosen, according to the moment when registration occurs, without any type of restriction to the right or interference in the decision of choosing the name. Once an individual is registered, the possibility of preserving and re-establishing the given name and surname must be ensured. The given name and surname are essential to establish formally the connection that exists between the different members of the family with society and with the State, and this was not ensured to the Yean and Bosico children by the Dominican Republic. 185. In addition to the above, the Court considers that the vulnerability to which the children were exposed as a result of the lack of nationality and juridical personality was also reflected, in the case of the child Violeta Bosico, by the fact that 110 Cf. Case of Yatama, supra note 13, para. 183; Case of De la Cruz Flores. Judgment of November 18, 2004. Series C No. 115, para. 122, and the Case of “Children’s Rehabilitation Institute,” supra note 106, para. 125. 111 Cf. among others, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 24(2); he Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 7(1); the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Article 6(1), and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, Article 29. The European Court has stated that the right to a name is protected by Article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, even though it is not specifically mentioned; cf. Stjerna v. Finland, judgment of 25 November 1994, Series A, No. 299-B, p. 60, para. 37, and Burghartz v. Switzerland, judgment of 22 February 1994, Series A No. 280-B, p. 28, para. 24.