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.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has reiterated its commitment to support the federal government in achieving its obligation and commitment to the Abidjan Declaration and the Banjul Plan of Action to eradicate statelessness. The UNHCR representative to…
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Federal Government have called on Nigerians to enroll for the National Identity Number (NIN) to avoid falling into a stateless situation. Jose Antonio-Canhandula, UNHCR, Nigeria Country Representative and Minister of…
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…
Dated May 2018; published 7 December 2018 Extract (pp.63-64): 6.6 Stateless persons The right to a nationality is a fundamental right recognised under international law. Nevertheless forcibly displaced persons are affected disproportionately by the problem of statelessness, especially women and…
By Uzoma Okafor The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday in Abuja commenced a two-day workshop with relevant stakeholders to adopt priority targets in the National Action Plan to End Statelessness in Nigeria.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)…
Bronwen Manby takes us through her new book Citizenship in Africa: The Law of Belonging. In an important contribution to the literature on statehood, citizenship and identity in Africa, this piece highlights the importance of formal legal frameworks and contests over citizenship…
Decision No. 002/2018; adopted at the 31st Ordinary Session of the ACERWC, May 2018; published 29 November 2018. IV: Decision of the Committee 104. For the foregoing reasons, the Committee finds that the Respondent State is in violation of its…
The Communication concerns Ms Iman Hassan Benjamin who was not able to attend her university education due to lack of national identity card, and further becomes stateless. She was denied an identity card because her late father would have become…
A new report commissioned for UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency, warns that thousands of people living in the East African Community (EAC), namely Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda are stateless or at risk of statelessness. The report details…
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)