The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines a “stateless person” as a person whom no state considers to be a national under the operation of its law (Article 1(1)). UNHCR Guidelines adopted in 2012 elaborate that deciding if a person is stateless is a “mixed question of fact and law”, so that “Where the competent authorities treat an individual as a non-national even though he or she would appear to meet the criteria for automatic acquisition of nationality under the operation of a country’s laws, it is their position rather than the letter of the law that is determinative in concluding that a State does not consider such an individual as a national”.
The international norm that statelessness is to be avoided has been steadily strengthened in the international and African human rights regimes. In the African system, the General Comment No.2 adopted by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child emphasises these protections.
Among the countries in Africa where UNHCR recognises that there are major populations at risk of statelessness are Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe. In Côte d’Ivoire and DRC the failure to recognise the nationality of large populations belonging to particular ethnic groups has been one of the main causes of conflict in those countries.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has heard complaints in several cases where people have been rendered stateless by individual and arbitrary decisions to deprive them of their nationality. Most cases, of course, never reach the national courts, still less a hearing by the African Commission.
Statelessness and lack of recognition of nationality have a devastating effect on respect for other rights. Without proof that a person is a national of the country where they live – or of any other country – a person may be unable to work, to access health care and education, to hold secure rights to land and other property, or to enforce any of these claims in court.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, applauds Togo’s accession to the two UN Conventions on Statelessness. Togo has now become the latest country to join the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction…
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion make this joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), on the right to a nationality and human rights challenges pertaining to statelessness in Zimbabwe. This submission focuses…
1. International Refugee Rights Initiative, Minority Rights Group, The Uganda Child Rights NGO Network, the International Centre for Transitional Justice, and the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion make this joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), on the right…
Association Question des Femmes, Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO), WARIPNET (West African Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Network), the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights Equality Now and the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI)…
Amnesty is calling for action to help those with no papers who are denied access to education, employment and healthcare By Nyasha Chingono At 45, Philimon Mashava has never had a bank account or a phone in his name. He…
By Tom Matoke Rwandans whose parents came to Kenya to work as slaves for the British colonial government now want to be recognised as Kenya’s 44th tribe. Their grandparents came to Kenya starting in the 1930s under the force of…
Aminetou Errer Bouzeid, LEFRIG Project Coordinator and Social Worker The exact number of people who were forcibly displaced in the 1970s to the Tindouf refugee camps set up by the Algerian state is unknown, but estimated at hundreds of thousands…
By Murphy Nganga Cape Town – A heartbroken matriculant from Kensington High School initiated a petition to request that the Department of Home Affairs establish a matric ID or citizenship helpline for stateless children who are yet to write their…
This Is Home is a campaign that documents the lives of inspiring young people in South Africa who are stateless or at risk of becoming stateless. The campaign provides explainers on statelessness and practical solutions for The Department of Home…
Great news for Sihle Collen Nxumalo, who finally received documents confirming his South African nationality. Until then, Sihle lived a stateless life. Following an interview on Morning Live, the Leanne Manas Show, Sihle’s case was successfully processed by the Department…