{"id":37088,"date":"2022-12-05T10:31:09","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T10:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/?p=37088"},"modified":"2022-12-09T20:20:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T20:20:07","slug":"unhcr-campaign-to-end-statelessness-update-july-september-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/unhcr-campaign-to-end-statelessness-update-july-september-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"UNHCR Campaign to End Statelessness Update July-September 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extracts relevant to Africa:<\/p>\n

Top events and news<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\u2022<\/span><\/span> Liberia<\/span><\/span> becomes the third country since the start<\/span><\/span> of the #IBelong Campaign to reform legislation to<\/span><\/span> grant women and men equal rights in passing on<\/span><\/span> their nationality to their children.<\/span><\/span>
<\/span>\u2022<\/span><\/span> Nigeria<\/span><\/span> adopts a National Action Plan to Eradicate<\/span><\/span> Statelessness and establishes a National Steering<\/span><\/span> Committee to oversee its implementation.<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Implementation of the Global Action Plan<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Action 2: Ensure that no child is born stateless<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Mali<\/span><\/span>, the president signed a decree which sets<\/span><\/span> out the modalities and procedures regarding the<\/span><\/span> acquisition and loss of Malian nationality, in accordance<\/span><\/span> with the relevant provisions in the law regulating Malian<\/span><\/span> nationality. Without this decree, access to nationality<\/span><\/span> was not clearly regulated, and the lack of guidance<\/span><\/span> or procedures related to access to nationality posed<\/span><\/span> challenges related to accessing nationality. Through<\/span><\/span> this decree, Mali partially implemented one of its\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pledges made during the 2019 HLS.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Action 3: Remove gender discrimination from<\/span><\/span> nationality laws<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Liberia<\/span><\/span>, the President signed an act to amend<\/span><\/span> the Aliens and Nationality Law, removing gender-<\/span><\/span>discriminatory provisions preventing women to<\/span><\/span> confer nationality to their children on an equal basis<\/span><\/span> as men. Liberia is only the third country to reform<\/span><\/span> legislation to grant women and men equal rights in<\/span><\/span> passing on their nationality to their children since the<\/span><\/span> #IBelong Campaign was launched in 2014, following <\/span><\/span>Madagascar and Sierra Leone.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Action 7: Ensure birth registration for the <\/span><\/span>prevention of statelessness<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Kenya<\/span><\/span>, the Haki Centre and Civil Registration<\/span><\/span> Services conducted a 5-day mobile birth registration<\/span><\/span> exercise in Lungalunga sub-county in Kwale county,<\/span><\/span> targeting stateless and at-risk populations. A total<\/span><\/span> of 2,133 children were registered, including through<\/span><\/span> late birth registration procedures.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Sudan<\/span><\/span>, UNHCR and the Sudanese Civil Registry<\/span><\/span> launched birth registration campaigns in eight states.<\/span><\/span> The campaigns are targeting 13,500 individuals<\/span><\/span> at risk of statelessness, including returnees, IDPs,<\/span><\/span> refugees, and members of the host community, to <\/span><\/span>ensure that every child has a birth certificate.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Chad<\/span><\/span>, UNHCR and its government partner, the<\/span><\/span> Agence Nationale des Titres S\u00e9curis\u00e9s, facilitated<\/span><\/span> the organization of 15 mobile courts in the southern <\/span><\/span>region of the country to enable access to civil<\/span><\/span> documentation for refugee children who were\u00a0<\/span><\/span>previously unable to access birth registration leaving<\/span><\/span> them at risk of statelessness. A total of 1,287 children<\/span><\/span> were issued supplementary judgments by the courts<\/span><\/span> which enabled the issuance of their birth certificates.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Benin,<\/span><\/span> UNHCR\u2019s partner Amnesty International<\/span><\/span> Benin and the National Agency for the Identification<\/span><\/span> of Persons jointly organized the distribution of 9,200<\/span><\/span> birth certificates to children who were previously<\/span><\/span> undocumented in Ouidah and the Karimama regions.<\/span><\/span> Children born in these remote rural areas bordering<\/span><\/span> Niger may struggle to prove their parentage and<\/span><\/span> links to Benin, placing them at risk of statelessness.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Action 8: Issue nationality documentation to those with entitlement to it<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Burkina Faso, UNHCR\u2019s support to the Government enabled the delivery of 23,179 civil status and identity documents\u00a0 to 12,748 internally displaced persons and 10,431 members of the host community in Boucle du Mouhoun, North, Hauts-Bassins, South-West and East regions.<\/p>\n

In Chad, 2,300 IDPs in the Chad Lake Region, received their first ever ID cards issued by the Agence Nationale des Titres S\u00e9curis\u00e9s, the government body in charge of the issuance of ID documents in Chad. These IDPs belong to a group of people living in the border region between Chad and Nigeria who are settled in both countries. In addition, these populations live in hard-to-reach areas making it difficult for them to access civil registration and documentation.<\/p>\n

Enhancing coordination on statelessness<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
<\/span><\/p>\n

Africa<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Nigeria,<\/span><\/span> the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of<\/span><\/span> Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and <\/span><\/span>Social Development and UNHCR, launched a<\/span><\/span> National Action Plan to Eradicate Statelessness<\/span><\/span> in Nigeria (NAP), and the Steering Committee<\/span><\/span> responsible for its implementation was inaugurated.<\/span><\/span> With the launch of the NAP and the inauguration of<\/span><\/span> the Steering\u00a0 Committee, Nigeria took an important<\/span><\/span> step towards the prevention and reduction of<\/span><\/span> statelessness and demonstrating Nigeria\u2019s efforts to<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 implement its commitments made during the 2019<\/span><\/span> High-Level Segment on Statelessness (HLS).<\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n

UNHCR, the Economic Community of West<\/span><\/span> African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic<\/span><\/span> Community of Central African States (CEMAC),<\/span><\/span> co-organized a virtual meeting with civil society<\/span><\/span> organizations and persons affected by statelessness <\/span><\/span>to seek feedback and contributions to the draft<\/span><\/span> regional model law on statelessness determination<\/span><\/span> procedures, the protection of stateless persons and<\/span><\/span> the facilitation of their naturalization<\/span><\/span>. Over 70 civil<\/span><\/span> society organization attended the consultations. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Substantial contributions were provided to the draft<\/span><\/span> model law which will be reviewed and finalized for<\/span><\/span> validation by technical experts from ECOWAS and<\/span><\/span> CEMAC Member States.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Kenya<\/span><\/span>, UNHCR, UNICEF and the Kenya Human<\/span><\/span> Rights Commission met with the head of the<\/span><\/span> Department for Civil Registration Services to discuss<\/span><\/span> strengthening collaboration to improve access<\/span><\/span> to regular and late birth registration for stateless<\/span><\/span> individuals. The meeting was followed by consultations<\/span><\/span> with civil registration officers, national government<\/span><\/span> administration officers and the<\/span><\/span> Shona community<\/span><\/span>, to<\/span><\/span> listen to community concerns and identify challenges<\/span><\/span> related to late birth registration procedures. Following<\/span><\/span> the consultations, standard operating procedures were<\/span><\/span> developed to guide late birth registration procedures<\/span><\/span> for members of the community. A rapid mobile birth<\/span><\/span> registration exercise for the Shona community is<\/span><\/span> planned for October 2022.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Sudan<\/span><\/span>, UNHCR and the Ministry of Social<\/span><\/span> Development organized a<\/span><\/span> workshop on gender<\/span><\/span> equality in nationality matters<\/span><\/span>. The workshop was<\/span><\/span> attended by the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of<\/span><\/span> Justice, members of the judiciary, and participants from<\/span><\/span> civil society. Issues regarding gender discrimination in<\/span><\/span> the nationality legislation and relevant administrative<\/span><\/span> procedures were discussed. Participants<\/span><\/span> recommended amending the nationality law to ensure <\/span><\/span>conformity with international standards, intensify<\/span><\/span> sensitization among civil registry staff, provide legal aid<\/span><\/span> and representation to affected women and accede to<\/span><\/span> the UN Statelessness Conventions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the<\/span><\/span> Central African Republic<\/span><\/span>, during an official<\/span><\/span> ceremony held on the 14 September, the UNHCR<\/span><\/span> Representative officially handed over various types<\/span><\/span> of in-kind support to the Minister of Justice, to<\/span><\/span> support the work of the National\u00a0 Committee for the<\/span><\/span> Fight against Statelessness. This is in line with the<\/span><\/span> National Action Plan to eradicate statelessness, and<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 supports the commitments made at the 2019 HLS.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Benin<\/span><\/span>, UNHCR, the National Commission in<\/span><\/span> charge of Refugees and the Law Commission of<\/span><\/span> the National Assembly co-organized an information<\/span><\/span> session on the Draft Law on the Status of Refugees<\/span><\/span> and Stateless Persons. UNHCR presented its<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 comments on the draft and made recommendations<\/span><\/span> to ensure its compliance with international standards<\/span><\/span> on the protection of refugees and stateless persons.<\/span><\/span> UNHCR also called on the National Assembly to<\/span><\/span> accelerate reforming the nationality legislation<\/span><\/span> to ensure adequate safeguards are in place to<\/span><\/span> prevent and reduce statelessness. The seminar was <\/span><\/span>attended by 50 parliamentarians.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> Mali,<\/span><\/span> the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights<\/span><\/span> organized a workshop to develop two important<\/span><\/span> documents relating to\u00a0 statelessness, namely a draft<\/span><\/span> decree creating a government body responsible<\/span><\/span> for the implementation of the statelessness<\/span><\/span> determination procedures (SDPs) and a draft text on<\/span><\/span> the design and procedures of the SDPs.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

In the<\/span><\/span> Republic of Congo<\/span><\/span>, the Council of Ministers<\/span><\/span> adopted a decree establishing the inter-institutional<\/span><\/span> technical committee for the eradication of<\/span><\/span> statelessness. This technical body will contribute<\/span><\/span> to the implementation of the government\u2019s policy<\/span><\/span> to combat statelessness. The committee will soon<\/span><\/span> commence its activities aimed at identifying and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>protecting persons affected by statelessness, and<\/span><\/span> ultimately processing applications for stateless status.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Download full update: https:\/\/www.refworld.org\/docid\/638f28324.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Extracts relevant to Africa: Top events and news\u2022 Liberia becomes the third country since the start of the #IBelong Campaign to reform legislation to grant women and men equal rights in passing on their nationality to their children.\u2022 Nigeria adopts a National Action Plan to Eradicate Statelessness and establishes a National Steering Committee to oversee […]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","region-benin","region-burkina-faso","region-central-african-republic","region-chad","region-international","region-kenya","region-liberia","region-mali","region-nigeria","region-republic-of-congo","region-sudan","region-west-africa","type-intergovernmental-bodies","type-reports","item-year-683","item-theme-acquisition-by-children","item-theme-acquisition-of-nationality","item-theme-birth-registration","item-theme-discrimination","item-theme-gender","item-theme-id-documents-and-passports","item-theme-international-standards","item-theme-naturalisation-and-marriage","item-theme-statelessness"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37088"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37125,"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37088\/revisions\/37125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citizenshiprightsafrica.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}