Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 33rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review: Côte d’Ivoire

Published: 4/Oct/2018
Source: Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion and Coalition de la société civile de lutte contre l’apatridie

[…] the co-submitting organisations urge reviewing States to make the following recommendations to Côte d’Ivoire:

I. Fully promote, respect, protect and fulfil its obligations towards stateless persons under international human rights law and protect the right to a nationality for all.

II. Review the Nationality Code in order to:
a. Ensure full implementation of the 1961 Statelessness Convention and Article 7 of the CRC, by establishing safeguards against statelessness for all children born in the territory, including otherwise stateless children born in the territory to foreign parents.
b. Provide clarification on who is considered a “foreigner” as set out in Article 6 of the 1961 Nationality Code; and
c. Ensure that foundlings are guaranteed the right to a nationality, as required under international law.

III. Establish specific procedures to assess the nationality/ statelessness status of historical migrants and of others at risk of statelessness, and to grant citizenship to persons who would otherwise be stateless.

IV. Strengthen the capacity of the judiciary to adjudicate nationality cases so that individual cases of statelessness may be resolved

V. Remove all discrimination in the nationality law, including on the basis of gender in relation to conferral of citizenship on children by naturalised women, and disability in relation to the standard naturalisation criteria.

VI. Ensure free universal birth registration. Take all necessary steps to address barriers to accessing birth registration, particularly by simplifying procedures, reducing the cost of producing and accessing documents, cracking down on corruption, training administrative
officers and harmonising administrative practices regarding birth registration.

VII. Ensure that provisions for the withdrawal of nationality as set out in Article 52-55 of the 1961 Nationality Code are clearly defined, not arbitrary or discriminatory, are in compliance with international law standards and do not result into statelessness.

Download from ISI website: http://www.institutesi.org/UPR33_Cote_dIvoire.pdf

Themes: Acquisition of nationality, Acquisition by children, International standards, Birth Registration, Naturalisation and Marriage, Statelessness
Regions: Côte d'Ivoire
Year: 2018