The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines a “stateless person” as a person whom no state considers to be a national under the operation of its law (Article 1(1)). UNHCR Guidelines adopted in 2012 elaborate that deciding if a person is stateless is a “mixed question of fact and law”, so that “Where the competent authorities treat an individual as a non-national even though he or she would appear to meet the criteria for automatic acquisition of nationality under the operation of a country’s laws, it is their position rather than the letter of the law that is determinative in concluding that a State does not consider such an individual as a national”.
The international norm that statelessness is to be avoided has been steadily strengthened in the international and African human rights regimes. In the African system, the General Comment No.2 adopted by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child emphasises these protections.
Among the countries in Africa where UNHCR recognises that there are major populations at risk of statelessness are Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe. In Côte d’Ivoire and DRC the failure to recognise the nationality of large populations belonging to particular ethnic groups has been one of the main causes of conflict in those countries.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has heard complaints in several cases where people have been rendered stateless by individual and arbitrary decisions to deprive them of their nationality. Most cases, of course, never reach the national courts, still less a hearing by the African Commission.
Statelessness and lack of recognition of nationality have a devastating effect on respect for other rights. Without proof that a person is a national of the country where they live – or of any other country – a person may be unable to work, to access health care and education, to hold secure rights to land and other property, or to enforce any of these claims in court.
By Masato Masato Zanzibar — ZANZIBAR: TANZANIA on Tuesday granted national citizenship to over 3,300 immobile migrants, reminding them to abide by the country’s rules and regulations. Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Mwinyi, presiding over a brief certificate issuance ceremony at […]
By Bethsheba Wambura Dar es Salaam. Over 3,300 immobile migrants have been granted citizenship by Tanzania after 50 years of living in the country. Citizenship certificates were issued by the President of Zanzibar, Dr. Hussein Mwinyi, in a ceremony held […]
By Zelda Venter Pretoria – A court has found that children born in South Africa to foreign national parents do not automatically entitle them to South African citizenship. The court then turned down an application by Zimbabwean parents for their […]
By JONATHAN KAMOGA Uganda’s minority ethnic groups have petitioned parliament to amend the constitution to grant them citizenship rights. In a joint petition to the Speaker of Parliament last week, the groups said that this exclusion has denied them the […]
By Sharon Ekambaram, Lindokuhle Mdabe and Geruza Bumba As we mark Women’s Day we must confront why these women continue to bear the brunt of this existential crisis. In the heart of South Africa, far from the cosmopolitan cityscapes, lies […]
By Lola Hierro Mahmud Hashimi stirs his cup of coffee as he sits on a spotless sofa in the lobby of the exclusive Carlton hotel in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. A casual onlooker would have no reason to think […]
Extracts relating to developments in law and policy: Eswatini On 06 April, an application was made at the High Court of the Kingdom of Eswatini ( Eswatini) to declare laws limiting the passing of citizenship from swazi women to their […]
A new study by the Secretariat of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, highlights risks of statelessness for refugees who have spent more than 20 years outside their country of origin, […]
ACHPR/Res.565 (LXXVI) 2023 The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission), meeting at its 76th Ordinary Session, held virtually from 19 July to 2 August 2023: Recalling its mandate to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights in […]
By Maureen Kinyanjui Close to 100,000 Pemba community members will from today (Friday) identify themselves as Kenyan citizens. President William Ruto who is in Kilifi will issue citizenship award to the community at Karisa Maitha Stadium. The community members have […]
GENEVA – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, applauds the Government of Kenya for granting citizenship to members of the Pemba community. This decisive action is another step in their longstanding commitment to help eliminate statelessness in the country and improve […]
We, experts of the Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) — Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Republic of Sudan, Republic of South Sudan, Tanzania, […]