Nationality in Benin is governed by Loi No. 2022-32 du 20 décembre 2022 portant code de la nationalité béninoise which replaced the 1965 Code de la nationalité dahoméenne (Benin was formerly known as Dahomey). The new law removed discrimination based on sex in transmission of nationality to children and spouses, in accordance with a decision of the Constitutional Court in 2014. Nationality is now attributed at birth to the child of a Beninois mother or father; and to every child born in Benin, with the right to repudiate that nationality at majority; as well as to abandoned children found in Benin. Men and women have the right to acquire nationality after five years of marriage to a Beninois spouse.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed efforts made by Benin to increase birth registration, including the creation of registration centers at the district level and carrying out awareness-raising campaigns. However, they expressed concern about the continued low level of registration in rural areas and suggested the placement of auxiliary registration officials at the village level and mobile courts to decide on late registrations free of charge. The Committee also expressed concerns about provisions in the nationality code discriminating on the basis of sex.
By Mark Banchereau DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — When Nadege Anelka first came to the West African country of Benin from her home island of Martinique, a French overseas territory in the Caribbean, the 57-year-old travel agent said she had a […]
In Benin, the government has voted through a law offering nationality to “people with an African ancestor deported as part of the slave trade”, with applications due to open in December. By: Melissa Chemam with RFI When introducing the bill […]
Eric Codjo Montcho Agbassa et Renaud Fiacre Avlessi COUNTRY REPORT RSC/GLOBALCIT-CR 2024/03 1. Introduction Le Dahomey d’alors, Bénin aujourd’hui, ancienne colonie de la France, n’avait pas une législation propre sur la nationalité ; avant la décolonisation, les ressortissants dahoméens étaient […]
Article 1er: La présente loi a pour objet de définir les conditions et modalités spécifiques suivant lesquelles les personnes reconnues comme afrodescendants peuvent acquérir la nationalité béninoise par reconnaissance. Article 2 : Est Afro-descendant au sens de la présente loi, […]
Ce texte, qui doit encore être promulgué par le président Patrice Talon, donnera la possibilité d’obtenir la citoyenneté béninoise à « toute personne qui, d’après sa généalogie, a un ascendant […] déporté dans le cadre de la traite des Noirs […]
By Caroline Tassot & Luis Iñaki Alberro In 2017, a quarter of Benin’s population was without a birth certificate, and less than half had a national identity card (NIC), with the figure for women even lower at 37%. Among those […]
On May 8, 2024, the Council of Ministers of Benin submitted to parliament a draft law recognizing Beninese nationality for “Afro-descendants”—persons with sub-Saharan African ancestry deported during the slave trade. The Beninese government expressed that many Afro-descendants wish to reconnect […]
En sa séance du Conseil des ministres du 08 mai 2024, le gouvernement béninois a décidé de la transmission à l’Assemblée nationale, pour examen et vote, du projet de loi relative à la reconnaissance de la nationalité béninoise aux Afro-descendants […]
The government of the Republic of Benin has welcomed a new bill aimed at giving Beninese nationality to Afro-descendants. Adopted by the Council of Ministers on May 8, 2024, the bill is intends to help Afro-descendants reconnect with their ancestral […]
Le Conseil des Ministres s’est réuni mercredi, le 08 mai 2024, sous la présidence de Monsieur Patrice TALON, Président de la République, Chef de l’État, Chef du Gouvernement. Les décisions ci-après ont été prises : I- Mesures normatives. I-1. Transmission […]
Extracts relevant to Africa: Action 1: Resolve existing major situations of statelessness The Government of Kenya formally recognized the Pemba as an ethnic community and therefore citizens of Kenya through a Gazette Notice on 30 January. It instructs authorities to […]
Nationality laws which do not grant women equality with men in conferring nationality on their children are a cause of statelessness and a concern for UNHCR. Since 2012, UNHCR has, in line with its mandate to prevent and reduce statelessness, […]