Author Archives for Bronwen Manby

“Two People Can’t Share the Same Pair of Shoes”: Citizenship, Land and the Return of Refugees to Burundi

November 1, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on “Two People Can’t Share the Same Pair of Shoes”: Citizenship, Land and the Return of Refugees to Burundi

The paper is the second of a series of working papers that form part of a collaborative project between the  International Refugee Rights Initiative, the Social Science Research Council, and civil society and academic partners in the Great Lakes region. […]


Five Former Senior Nigerian Officials Appear In Court On Corruption Charges

October 30, 2009 8:08 am Published by Comments Off on Five Former Senior Nigerian Officials Appear In Court On Corruption Charges

In Nigeria, five former senior government officials appeared before a federal high court in Abuja Tuesday to answer corruption charges. The case concerns a controversial national identity card project. The multi-million dollar national ID card project had been dogged by […]


Malawi disenfranchises Mozambican voters

October 27, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Malawi disenfranchises Mozambican voters

The general director of the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), the electoral branch of the Mozambican civil service, Felisberto Naife, confirmed on Tuesday that the Malawian authorities have refused to allow polling stations for the Mozambican general elections to be […]


47 000 étrangers ont obtenu la nationalité algérienne depuis 1970

October 21, 2009 7:22 pm Published by Comments Off on 47 000 étrangers ont obtenu la nationalité algérienne depuis 1970

La plupart sont des Français, des Palestiniens, des Syriens et des Egyptiens Mercredi 21 Octobre 2009 — Les demandes d’acquisition de la nationalité algérienne ont connu une considérable augmentation ces trois dernières années en comparaison de la décennie noire, du […]


Africa needs a regional treaty to end civicide

October 19, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Africa needs a regional treaty to end civicide

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu There are two ways to kill in human community: you can kill a human being or you can kill the citizen. The first is biological; the second is sociological but no less real. The former is […]


Nigeria: Rufai and Ribadu Denied Passport Renewals & The Devil’s Advocate Argues Both Sides

October 14, 2009 8:40 am Published by Comments Off on Nigeria: Rufai and Ribadu Denied Passport Renewals & The Devil’s Advocate Argues Both Sides

By Paul I. Adujie The renewals of passports palaver or tussles between the federal government of Nigeria on the one hand. And, the former Federal Capital Territory Minister, FCT, Mallam Nasiru El Rufai, and the former Chairperson of Economic and […]


Citizenship the most important right of all

October 12, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Citizenship the most important right of all

By Bronwen Manby “Give us our identity cards and we hand over our Kalashnikovs”, said the leader of the rebel forces in Cí´te d’Ivoire. Those who have never been deprived of official papers may find it hard to imagine the […]


Citizenship Discrimination and the Right to Nationality in Kenya

October 1, 2009 10:05 pm Published by Comments Off on Citizenship Discrimination and the Right to Nationality in Kenya

Statement Submitted by the Open Society Justice Initiative for Consideration by the United Nations Human Rights Council at its Eighth Session, on the occasion of its Universal Periodic Review of Kenya May 3 – 14, 2010 INTRODUCTION 1. The Open […]


Struggles for Citizenship in Africa

October 1, 2009 6:47 pm Published by Comments Off on Struggles for Citizenship in Africa

By Bronwen Manby Millions of people living in Africa find themselves nonpersons in the only states they have ever known. Because they are not recognized as citizens, they cannot get their children registered at birth; they cannot access state health […]


Torture and discrimination in Western Sahara

October 1, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Torture and discrimination in Western Sahara

The conflict in Western Sahara is one of the longest running and most forgotten in the world. Known as Africa’s last colony, Western Sahara was sold to Morocco and Mauritania by the Spanish when they withdrew in 1976. The Mauritanians […]


Kenya’s citizenship on sale

September 29, 2009 6:04 pm Published by Comments Off on Kenya’s citizenship on sale

By Adow Jubat and Boniface Ongeri He had just hit 18 years in 2006 when as required by law, he decided to get a national identity card.  Having been born by Kenyan parents in Garissa District, Khalif Hassan was certain […]


Mugabe: Land grabs the ‘best thing’ to happen to Zim

September 25, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Mugabe: Land grabs the ‘best thing’ to happen to Zim

The Zimbabwe land-reform programme was the “best thing that could have happened to an African country”, according to President Robert Mugabe. The land grabs that drove thousands of white farmers and their black workers off their land in Zimbabwe over […]