Foundlings at risk of statelessness in Kenya: towards strengthened legal protection
Published: 2/Oct/2025
Source: European Network on Statelessness
By Julie I. Lugulu
Every child around the world has the right to a nationality. This right is anchored in international and regional human rights instruments. Globally, treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) provide all children with the right to acquire a nationality and be registered immediately after birth.
Similarly, at the regional level in the African continent, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Relating to the Specific Aspects of the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa reiterate the importance of every child’s right to a name and nationality. However, despite the protections provided for every child’s right to a nationality in international and regional treaties, childhood statelessness still affects many children globally, including in Kenya.
Read further: https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/blog/foundlings-risk-statelessness-kenya-towards-strengthened-legal-protection