Blog Posts

Western Sahara: Political limbo and statelessness in Africa’s last colony

Published: 1/Apr/2021
Source: European Network on Statelessness

By Danielle Smith – Founding Director, Sandblast Arts and Dr. Violeta Ruano The Saharawi people have been stateless for over 40 years since Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1975. Danielle Smith, Founding Director of Sandblast Arts, and Dr.…

National ID in Lesotho is putting citizens at the center

Published: 22/Feb/2021
Source: World Bank

By Rachel Ort & Tumelo Raboletsi By putting people at the center, Lesotho’s Department of National ID and Civil Registry (NICR) in the Ministry of Home Affairs is laying a solid foundation for a simpler, more efficient government. Trusted and…

Niger’s elections are unlikely to break the political deadlock

Published: 10/Dec/2020
Source: Institute for Security Studies (South Africa)

As the polls approach, deep divisions focus more on candidates’ personal backgrounds than Niger’s security and development challenges. by Ornella Moderan and Habibou Souley Bako On 13 and 27 December, some 7.4 million Nigeriens vote in the country’s local, legislative…

South Africa: Every child needs a birth certificate

Published: 13/Nov/2020
Source: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg)

Dear South Africans, More than a million children are born in our country each year and are issued birth certificates.  But estimates are that another 100 000 children are not registered at birth in South Africa, setting them up for…

A passport is a privilege in Zimbabwe

Published: 28/Jul/2020
Source: African Arguments (Royal African Society, UK)

By Kudzai Mubaiwa My passport is one of my most prized possessions. You can’t always get another one even if you have the money. This is the third essay in the six-part series guest edited by Nanjala Nyabola. Additional editing…

Inside Nigeria’s 13-year-old quest for widespread digital identification

Published: 21/Jul/2020
Source: TechPoint.Africa (Nigeria)

By Emmanuel Paul Throughout history, humans have needed means of identification in the course of their daily activities. Over the years, this has evolved from sounds and other bodily signals to physical tokens like passports and ID cards among others.…

Chisuse and Others versus Department of Home Affairs (CC:155/19)

Published: 14/Apr/2020
Source: GlobalCit

By Christine Hobden (University of Fort Hare), GLOBALCIT collaborator. In June 2019, a South African Non-Profit Organisation, Lawyers for Human Rights, applied to the South African Constitutional Court for confirmation of a High Court order declaring unconstitutional the provisions of…

In Kenya, thousands face an uncertain future without ID cards

Published: 13/Apr/2020
Source: CodaStory.com

By Keren Weitzberg A government program for citizens and refugees highlights the pitfalls of humanitarian biometrics Amina Ali Adan was born in the Kenyan town of Garissa, 65 miles away from Dadaab, one of the world’s largest refugee camps, situated…

High Court of Kenya suspends implementation of biometric ID system

Published: 16/Mar/2020
Source: Oxford Human Rights Hub

Daniel Cullen On 30 January 2020, the High Court of Kenya – the first level of the country’s superior courts, whose decisions can be appealed to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court – handed down its judgment in the…