The ten states of the Southern African region recognised by the African Union have a very diverse history on nationality, despite the common legal heritage of the majority within the British Commonwealth. The “settler states” of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia had their own nationality laws much earlier than the other states who only adopted nationality legislation after independence in the 1960s and 70s.
While the laws of South Africa and Namibia provide strong protections against statelessness, as do those in the lusophone states, the descent-based laws in the remaining anglophone countries have left many at risk of statelessness. Gender-based discrimination has reduced; but Southern Africa has moved less far towards acceptance of dual nationality than other regions.
The main crisis relating to citizenship in the region has been in Zimbabwe, where the government from 2000 refused to recognise people who had a potential claim to another nationality as Zimbabweans (even if they had never made any attempt to claim that nationality, and might not qualify for it under the other state’s national law). The 2013 constitution of Zimbabwe should have resolved some of these questions, in particular since it allowed dual nationality for citizens from birth; but five years later the citizenship act had yet to be amended, and many were still forced to litigate to restore their citizenship.
The Southern Africa region is joined by five additional states (DRC, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania) to form the Southern African Development Community (SADC) a regional economic community also recognised by the AU. SADC adopted a protocol on facilitation of free movement in 2005, but it is far less comprehensive and regional integration generally is less developed than in East and West Africa (and is not yet in force). The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, however, contains strong commitments for women’s equality to be enshrined in constitutions and national laws. In 2016, the SADC Parliamentary Forum adopted a resolution on the prevention of statelessness
There is great misinformation surrounding statelessness and particularly the rights of children in this respect. Lusungu Kanyama Phiri works at Lawyers for Human Rights and is concentrated on their statelessness project. Phiri laments that “there’s no legislation that protects stateless people…
By Wanga Gwede Parts of Mchinji, Mzimba, Kasungu and Rumphi districts have been declared to belong to Zambia during the border re-demarcation exercise. Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Jean Kalilani told Parliament in a ministerial statement that the…
Lesotho has amended its constitution to allow for dual citizenship, Lesotho Home Affairs Minister Tsukutlane Au said on Sunday. “We have amended our constitution to allow for dual citizenship, but the target was not South Africa per say. We are…
Yesterday’s Supreme Court judgement on the interpretation of South Africa’s Citizenship Act could result in a swathe of young people – those born and raised in South Africa with foreign parents – being able to apply to citizenship. We speak to Michelle,*…
Minister of Home Affairs v Miriam Ali Today, the Supreme Court of Appeal handed down judgment confirming the Western Cape High Court’s (WCHC) position, which provides that children born in South Africa to foreign national parents are entitled to apply…
Time is running out for Ebenezer Odei to get the funding he needs to be able to attend university in 2019. Odei is a matric learner at Grassy Park High School. His parents are Ghanaian and came to South Africa…
Submissions on proposed Draft Regulations on the Registration of Births and Deaths from: Refugee Social Services UCT Childrens Institute Save the Children South Africa Centre for Child Law and Lawyers for Human Rights (endorsed by other organisations)
Joint Press Release The Department of Home Affairs has published its proposed new regulations to the Births and Deaths Registration Act and is calling for the discontinuation of the issuing of birth certificates to foreign children. Where previously all children…
Coque Mukuta Aldeões dizem que forças de segurança mataram 16 pessoas na Lunda Norte O Governo angolano iniciou a 25 de Setembro uma campanha para repor o que chama de legalidade na exploração e comercialização dos diamantes, como uma das…
The Department of Home Affairs invites you to comment on the Draft Regulations on the Registration of Births and Deaths, 2018. Download from Parliamentary Monitoring Group: https://pmg.org.za/call-for-comment/753/