The fifteen states of West Africa region are also grouped together within ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States. ECOWAS, first established by treaty in 1975, is the regional economic community recognised by the African Union that has progressed furthest with regional integration, starting from the 1979 Protocol Relating to Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and Establishment. In addition to its treaty framework on free movement, in 1982 ECOWAS adopted the Protocol Relating to the Definition of a Community Citizen.
In July 2014, the ECOWAS Authority approved the introduction by 2017 of a new ECOWAS national biometric ID card, to replace the common form passport provided for since 2000, and the abolition of the requirement for residence permits for ECOWAS citizens resident in another ECOWAS state.
At a ministerial conference held in Abidjan in February 2015, ECOWAS member states also adopted the important Abidjan Declaration on the Eradication of Statelessness, which committed the region to further action to implement the right to a nationality for all. In 2017, states approved a regional plan of action to implement the declaration.
Like other regions, West Africa has seen a strong trend to reduce gender discrimination and permit dual nationality. Common action on nationality matters within the region is facilitated by the common civil law heritage of many of the states (both francophone and lusophone), many of which have strong rights based on birth in the territory and an important role for the courts in nationality.
The state that has seen the most important crisis related to nationality is Cote d’Ivoire, where the law has since 1973 provided for nationality based only on descent. The civil war that broke out in 2002 was to a large extent caused by the denial of the right to belong of the descendants of migrants from other West African states.
Latest Crackdown Heightens Rights Concerns Amid Renewed Political Tensions (Nairobi) – Niger’s junta has provisionally stripped five more exiled opposition figures of their nationality, extending a controversial policy increasingly used against critics of the military authorities, Human Rights Watch said […]
Le président nigérien Abdourahamane Tiani a signé, jeudi 17 septembre 2026, un décret portant déchéance provisoire de la nationalité de cinq personnes, dont l’ancien Premier ministre de Mohamed Bazoum, Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou. Cette nouvelle décision intervient après plusieurs vagues similaires depuis […]
Niamey, 17 sept (ANP) – Le Président de la République, Chef de l’Etat, le Général d’Armée Abdourahamane Tiani, a signé, ce jeudi 17 septembre 2026, un décret portant déchéance provisoire de la nationalité nigérienne de cinq personnes physiques, Cette mesure […]
Le Conseil des Ministres s’est tenu le mercredi 02 septembre 2026, au Palais de la République, sous la présidence de Son Excellence Monsieur Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar FAYE, Président de la République. […] AU TITRE DES TEXTES LEGISLATIFS ET REGLEMENTAIRES Le […]
Ten people of African descent officially reconnected with their Beninese roots by receiving their nationality certificates at a ceremony held on Saturday, at the Cotonou Judicial Complex. The ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Justice and […]
By Roger A. Agana Ghana’s Constitution grants men and women equal rights to pass citizenship to their children. In practice, thousands of Ghanaians still struggle to prove it. NewsGhana spoke with Cassadee Yan, author of “The Gendered Politics of Belonging: […]
by Kirstie Kwarteng Highlights West African governments are offering citizenship to descendants of enslaved Africans and other diaspora members as both a symbolic act of reparative justice and a practical strategy to attract investment, skills, and tourism. Benin, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, […]
Le gouvernement malien a adopté, le 17 juillet 2026, un projet d’ordonnance élargissant la possibilité de déchéance de nationalité aux Maliens d’origine, une mesure jusqu’ici principalement réservée aux personnes naturalisées. Présentée comme un renforcement de l’arsenal juridique contre les atteintes […]
MONROVIA – A 178-year-old constitutional clause restricting citizenship to persons of Negro descent has returned to center stage. Dr. Robtel Neajai Pailey, an LSE scholar, brought a decade of research on the clause to the House of Representatives Tuesday. Her […]
By Leroy Maxwell Sonpon III The nation’s decades-old constitutional debate over citizenship, identity, and land ownership has resurfaced with renewed intensity following a caution from renowned Liberian political economist and scholar Robtel Neajai Pailey, who has urged lawmakers to proceed […]
By John Sharp Cassandra Lewis’s path to citizenship in the African country of Benin began decades ago. As the youngest of nine children, she grew up listening to her father recount stories that were not fantasy tales of slave ships […]
Application No: ECW/CCJ/APP/25/25 Judgment No. ECW/CCJ/JUD/30/26 Extracts: INTRODUCTION 4. The Application concerns the alleged violation of the Applicant’s right to freedom of movement, including her right to leave and return to her country of nationality, as guaranteed under Article 12(2) […]