Spotlight on Statelessness January-June 2025
Published: 2/Sep/2025
Source: UNHCR
Implementation of the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2.0
Extracts relevant to Africa:
Action 1. Resolve major situations of statelessness
In May, Kenya’s parliamentary committee submitted the draft Amendment Bill to the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act to the Attorney General, Kenya Law Reform Commission and Immigration Department for further inputs. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts to reform the law to enable continuous registration of stateless persons in Kenya.
Action 2. Ensure that no child is born stateless
The Government of Burkina Faso submitted a draft Code on Persons and the Family to the transitional legislative assembly for review. In January, UNHCR participated in hearing on the draft code, presenting recommendations to prevent statelessness and urging alignment with the 1961 Statelessness Convention.
Action 3. Remove gender discrimination from nationality laws
As of July, the Kingdom of Eswatini took interim steps to prevent gender-discriminatory nationality provisions from blocking children’s access to birth registration. Through government-led out-of-court settlements, this approach remains in effect while awaiting mandated legislative reforms by the Constitutional Court.
Action 6. In migratory context, determine statelessness and protect stateless persons and facilitate their naturalization
UNHCR continues to advocate with Zambian authorities for an inclusive nationality law. In January, the Zambian Civil Liberties Union filed a constitutional petition challenging the citizenship registration requirements for refugees. In June, the Global Council for Strategic Litigation was admitted as amicus curiae in the case. The Court granted a six-month adjournment for a negotiated solution, inviting UNHCR to participate.
In Mali, the National Transitional Council adopted the Law on the Status of Stateless Persons, which was promulgated by the Head of State in May. The law includes the creation of a body responsible for protecting stateless persons.
Action 7. Ensure birth registration for the prevention of statelessness
The “My Name” campaign in Cameroon, launched following the 2024 National Forum of Mayors and supported by the National civil status registration office (BUNEC), the Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development and UNICEF, aimed to boost birth registration through digital solutions, community engagement, and strengthened civil status systems. Concluding in June, the campaign resulted in 367 of 374 communes adopting digital registration, improving children’s access to legal identity. It also contributed to the adoption of the new Law on Civil Status Registration.
Action 10. Improve quantitative and qualitative data on stateless populations
In June, in Kenya, the National focal point on statelessness, Immigration Department and NGO partner Haki Centre undertook a mission to Kericho to finalize and validate the Rwandan community self-register in order to improve data on stateless populations.
In South Africa, Botswana, and the Kingdom of Eswatini qualitative reports on statelessness were finalized and validated by the respective governments.
Other updates
Following the adoption of the new Law on Stateless Persons, Mali’s Interministerial Committee to Combat Statelessness, led by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights with UNHCR’s support, met in June to draft the legal instruments establishing the bod responsible for stateless persons. The workshop produced two key documents: a draft decree creating the National Commission for Stateless Persons (under the Ministry of Justice’s National Directorate of Judicial Affairs and the Seal) and a procedural guide for determining stateless status.
In Niger, a Statelessness Working Group for the Tahoua region was established in June and held its first meeting in June with participation from stakeholders nationwide. A new national Alliance was launched in Diffa to mobilize authorities, UN agencies, CSOs, and development actors, with a national evaluation of the Statelessness Action Plan set for end of July.
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