Author Archives for Bronwen Manby

Citizenship Law as the Foundation for Political Participation in Africa

February 1, 2019 3:39 pm Published by Comments Off on Citizenship Law as the Foundation for Political Participation in Africa

By Bronwen Manby Summary The question of membership and belonging is widely recognized to have been at the root of many political crises in Africa since independence. The legal frameworks for citizenship were largely inherited from the colonial powers and […]


South Africa: Mulowayi and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Another

January 29, 2019 3:37 pm Published by Comments Off on South Africa: Mulowayi and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Another

Case CCT249/18 [2019] ZACC 01 Judgement Date: 29 January 2019 Post Judgment Media Summary   The following explanatory note is provided to assist the media in reporting this case and is not binding on the Constitutional Court or any member of the […]


The struggles for Liberian citizenship

January 29, 2019 1:36 pm Published by Comments Off on The struggles for Liberian citizenship

Why has Liberia not enacted dual citizenship or repealed a constitutional ‘Negro clause’? by Robtel Neajai Pailey It has been exactly one year since newly inaugurated Liberian President George Manneh Weah sparked controversy by declaring staunch support for enacting dual citizenship and repealing a […]


Dual citizenship in Africa: ‘Benefits outweigh disadvantages’

January 29, 2019 11:50 am Published by Comments Off on Dual citizenship in Africa: ‘Benefits outweigh disadvantages’

Dual citizenship is illegal in a number of African countries. Authoritarian leaders regard people with a second nationality as potentially dangerous with their “foreign” ideas, analysts say. Several African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania and […]


Reaffirmation of the Commitments of the Abuja Action Statement and their Implementation

January 29, 2019 10:54 am Published by Comments Off on Reaffirmation of the Commitments of the Abuja Action Statement and their Implementation

Recalling the common purpose and objectives of the Abuja Action Statement of 8 June 2016, the Governments of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, with the participation of a broad range of partners engaged in the response to forced displacement, convened […]


Guinea: President Refuses to Approve New Civil Code Legalizing Polygamy

January 28, 2019 3:25 pm Published by Comments Off on Guinea: President Refuses to Approve New Civil Code Legalizing Polygamy

(Jan. 28, 2019) On December 29, 2018, the Guinean Parliament adopted a new Civil Code to replace the one that Guinea has had since 1983. (Guinean Civil Code: Some Advances for Women, but Polygamy Legalized, RFI AFRIQUE (Dec. 31, 2018) (in […]


Congo: Eradication de l’apatridie: validation sous peu du plan national 2019-2024

January 28, 2019 10:33 am Published by Comments Off on Congo: Eradication de l’apatridie: validation sous peu du plan national 2019-2024

Le document sera bientôt entériné par le Congo et l’agence pays du Haut-commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés (HCR). L’adoption du plan national 2019-2024  pour l’éradication de l’apatridie va traduire la volonté du gouvernement congolais à poursuivre ses efforts […]


Soomal: Dispatches from a nomad: Get Somali refugees out of camps to curb youth radicalisation

January 26, 2019 8:36 am Published by Comments Off on Soomal: Dispatches from a nomad: Get Somali refugees out of camps to curb youth radicalisation

By HASSAN MOHAMED Ethiopia last week passed a law allowing one million refugees to move out of their camps, attend regular schools and to travel and work across the country. They can also to formally register births, marriages and deaths […]


Bénin: Projet d’enregistrement à titre dérogatoire à l’état-civil

January 25, 2019 10:48 am Published by Comments Off on Bénin: Projet d’enregistrement à titre dérogatoire à l’état-civil

Le spécimen des actes de naissance délivrés dans le cadre du Projet d’enregistrement à titre dérogatoire à l’état civil (Pedec) est disponible. Les populations enrôlées en marge du Recensement administratif à vocation d’identification de la population et concernées par ce […]


A Call to Action to End Statelessness in Kenya

January 24, 2019 2:12 pm Published by Comments Off on A Call to Action to End Statelessness in Kenya

The severity of living without a national identification document is inconceivable to most Kenyans. Without a national identity card, individuals are practically invisible to the state.  As such, it is difficult for them to secure the rights other citizens enjoy; […]


Le Niger compte se doter d’une politique d’état civil

January 23, 2019 12:19 pm Published by Comments Off on Le Niger compte se doter d’une politique d’état civil

Niamey, 23 Janv (ANP) – le Niger envisage d’adopter une politique nationale de l’état civil, et un projet de loi portant régime de l’état civil dans le cadre de la modernisation de l’Etat. Trois projets de textes révisés – la […]


Rwanda: Civil registration, hospitals set to register newborns

January 23, 2019 11:43 am Published by Comments Off on Rwanda: Civil registration, hospitals set to register newborns

By Emmanuel Ntirenganya Parents will no longer have to travel to local administration offices to register their new babies once a new system to register them at health centres goes in place. Parents will be given 15 days to register […]