National Action Plan to End Statelessness in Somalia 2021 – 2024
Published: 22/Jun/2021
Source: Federal Government of Somalia
The National Action Plan was officially launched by the Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs (MoIFAR) of Somalia on 22 June 2021.
The NAP highlights the following priorities:
- Priority 1: Ensure no child is born stateless
- Priority 2: Remove gender discrimination from nationality laws
- Priority 3: Prevent denial, loss or deprivation of nationality on discriminatory grounds
- Priority 4: Ensure birth registration for the prevention of statelessness
- Priority 5: Accede to the UN Statelessness Conventions
- Priority 6: Improve qualitative and quantitative data on stateless populations
Extract from introduction:
This Federal Government of Somalia National Action Plan to End Statelessness (2021-2024) (NAP) is informed by the Regional Statelessness Study conducted in late 2020 and early 2021, and the multi-stakeholder technical workshops held on 17 June 2021. The participants involved in the elaboration of the National Action Plan (NAP) included representatives of Government ministries (including the Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation, the Ministry of Women & Human Rights Development, the Ministry of Planning, Investment & Economic Development, the Immigration & Naturalization Directorate, the National Commission of Refugees and IDPs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the National ID Authority and the National Bureau of Statistics); UN agencies (UNHCR, IOM), civil society and academic institutions.
At the 17 June 2021 workshop, participants deliberated on the causes and consequences of statelessness based on the findings of the Regional Statelessness Study as well as research, and innovations in civil documentation by MoIFAR. The NAP prioritizes six action areas, informed by the findings from the Regional Statelessness Study (which provides a comparative analysis of various nationality legislative frameworks), as well as from the political will, commitment and pledges made by the Federal Government of Somalia during the High-Level Segment on Statelessness.
The NAP provides an opportunity for the FGS to operationalize and implement its pledges made during the High-Level Segment on Statelessness in a strategic and policy framework. Specifically, the pledges made by the FGS included the following:
1. By 31 December 2020, accede to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention Relating to the Reduction of Statelessness.
2. By 31 December 2020, conduct and publish a qualitative study to better understand the situation of stateless groups and individuals and those at risk of statelessness living in its territory in order to find a solution to their situation.
Download national action plan: SOM – National Action Plan to End Statelessness 2021 – 2024