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Category Archives: Statelessness

Challenging Discriminatory
Legislation in Sudan Using African
Legal Architecture Statelessness in Africa, with a Focus on the Gambia
A Significant Step in Favour of Women’s Rights in Senegal
How Lawyers for Human Rights is Fighting to End Statelessness
 The First Global Forum on Statelessness: Raising the Profile
Summary of the ACHPR’s Study on Nationality

Source: CITIZENSHIP IN AFRICA NEWSLETTER | Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative

Call for Papers: Citizenship in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe: Contracting, Expanding and Overlapping

October 15, 2015 2:18 pm

Special issue of Central and Eastern Europe Migration Review

Citizenship in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe: Contracting, Expanding and Overlapping

Guest editor: Costica Dumbrava (Maastricht University)

Over the past quarter of a century, all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have changed or amended their citizenship laws. Some of these changes responded to the need to modernise citizenship laws in line with rediscovered liberal democratic principles. Others were triggered by dramatic developments in the region, such as transformations of statehood, border changes, war and population movements (e.g. internal displacement, refugee flows, ethnic immigration, and economic emigration). The new citizenship laws divided populations that once belonged to the same state, leading to the proliferation of both multiple citizenship and statelessness. While certain groups of residents (immigrants, ethnic minorities) were excluded from citizenship, other people were recognised as citizens despite the fact that they lived outside borders (co-ethnics, emigrants). Commentators in the early 1990s spoke of a rift between citizenship regimes in Western and Eastern Europe, thus reiterating older views about a dichotomy between civic-Western and ethnic-Eastern nations. We now have a growing comparative literature on citizenship that has overcome such simplistic views by revealing a complexity of patterns and trends of citizenship policies in Europe and globally. However, this literature still tends to focus primarily on issues such as immigration and naturalisation, which are more pressing to researchers from and/or working in Western Europe.

This special issue seeks to analyse the development of citizenship regimes in post-communist CEE by both providing insights into specific national and regional issues and reflecting on the existing literature on citizenship from a regional perspective. We invite original contributions from researchers working on citizenship and migration policies that focus on specific cases in the CEE region or take broader comparative perspectives integrating various CEE cases into the wider European and global context. We welcome studies that take different disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to address the following broad questions:

What trends and patterns can be identified in the development of citizenship policies in post-communist CEE?
What are the main lines of convergence and divergence of citizenship regimes in CEE in the past quarter of a century?
What were the main drivers of citizenship policies in post-communist CEE?
To what extent, and in what way, do the developments in citizenship policies of CEE differ from those in other regions of Europe or the world?

Submission guidelines and related dates

30.11.2015 – submission of abstracts

15.05.2016 – submission of articles

Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be submitted to Renata Stefańska at ceemr@uw.edu.pl.

http://www.ceemr.uw.edu.pl/call-for-papers

For more information on Central and Eastern European Migration Review, please visit www.ceemr.uw.edu.pl.

Citizenship Rights in Africa – Newsletter

October 15, 2015 7:35 am

New On the CRAI Website: 14 October 2015

CRAI

CRAI Newsletter 8 September 2015 – Citizenship Rights in Africa Innitiative

September 11, 2015 8:08 am

Source: New on the CRAI Website – 8 September 2015

New On the CRAI Website: 4 August 2015

August 6, 2015 9:52 am

Below are the new materials added to the CRAI website 22 July – 4 August

NGO report

149 new births registered in Mahama refugee camp

With more than 5,780 children under 5 living in Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda, Plan International in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and local authorities is registering new births, which gives a child legal status.

“149 of the 160 new births have been officially registered and we are awaiting the arrival of their birth certificates,” says Eleazar Mugarira, Plan International Rwanda Senior Child Protection Manager at the camp, home to nearly 30,000 Burundi refugees who fled the violence in their country.

News articles

Côte d’Ivoire: Sur les traces des sans-papiers

Des deux cents (200) pays et territoires du monde, la Côte d’Ivoire est l’un des rares à fournir des chiffres concernant les apatrides. Évalués à plus de sept cent cinquante mille, ces populations résidant sur le sol ivoirien, depuis des décennies, n’ont pas d’existence véritable. En clair, elles n’ont pas d’avenir car ne possédant aucune pièce pouvant permettre de les identifier. Nous avons fait une incursion dans la région de la Marahoué (centre-ouest) où la plupart de ces apatrides resident.

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Repeal the Provisions on Dual Allegiance and Office-Holding Exclusions

Ghana Web

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has recently questioned the nationality of the newly-appointed chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC). Her allegation comes on the backdrop of recent intense speculations that the chairperson is a Nigerian by birth. Ms. Charlotte Kesson Smith herself reports that she was born at Nnewi, Nigeria in the Martindale-Hubbel International Law Directory. In my opinion, even if she is a Nigerian by birth, that should not disqualify her from holding the office of the chairperson of the EC as long as she is also a Ghanaian, ergo a dual citizen.

But assuming that she is a dual citizen, and not a foreigner as alleged by the former first lady, raises another important question: Why did this nation send Adamu Sakande Daramani, a dual citizen, to jail and compel other dual citizens to renounce their other citizenships before they can even compete in the primaries of some of the political parties?

Counting the uncountable

IRIN

How do you design effective policies and programmes to help vulnerable populations when you don’t know how many people you’re dealing with?The difficulty of collecting reliable data in the midst of an emergency is a perennial problem for the humanitarian sector, but it is compounded when the people you’re trying to count have gone uncounted by their own government for decades.

Statelessness – the result of not being considered a national of any country – is often, by its very nature, an invisible problem that is extremely difficult to measure. Denied rights and services and forced to live on the margins of societies, stateless people are usually undocumented and ignored by authorities. They don’t show up in national censuses or in your typical databases.

News articles

Fatick : Automatisation de l’enregistrement des naissances et des mariages grâce à un logiciel

Sene News

Le ministre de la Gouvernance locale, de l’Aménagement du territoire et du Développement, Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, a révélé mercredi que la région de Fatick dispose d’un logiciel de gestion automatisée de l’enregistrement des faits d’état-civil (naissances, mariages et décès), dénommé HERA. Ce logiciel est logé dans le centre d’état-civil de la nouvelle mairie de Fatick, inaugurée mardi dernier par le président de République Macky Sall, a-t-il précisé, au sortir d’un conseil des ministres délocalisé à Fatick.

Selon lui, ‘’il permettra d’informatiser l’état-civil dans la région de Fatick, et va faciliter l’obtention d’actes de naissance, d’actes de mariage ou encore d’actes de décès en un temps record, dès que le système identifie les coordonnées du demandeur ’’.

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Resident Card for Benefits

This Day Live

One of the highpoints of the inaugural speech of the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko in February 2009 was his desire to know the people of the state by their names, profession, where they live and other relevant information about them. When the governor made the promise at the Akure Township Stadium that was filled to the brim, many people doubted that the plan will be implementated.

However, the introduction of Residency Smart Card popularly called ‘Kaadi Igbe Ayo’ had actually revealed the mind of the governor and made the mission of identifying all residents of the state possible for him. This is because all holders of the card would be known to the institution of the state government of which Mimiko is the chief driver. The card as explained by the governor was to facilitate the identification of all residents of Ondo State so as to deliver to them directly the inherent social and welfare programmes contained in his 12-point agenda.

Processus électoral : La liste électorale provisoire publiée ce samedi

Abidjan.net News

Le Président de la Commission Electorale Indépendante, M. Youssouf Bakayoko, accompagné de son vice-président Gervais Coulibaly et son conseiller spécial Antoine Adou, a pris part ce vendredi 24 juillet 2014 à une réunion au siège du PNUD à Abidjan-Plateau avec les partenaires extérieurs dans le cadre du programme d’appui à la consolidation de la démocratie et de la gouvernance participative en Côte-d’Ivoire. A cette occasion, il a fait le bilan de la phase de recensement des électeurs de l’opération de révision de la liste électorale de 2010 et donné les perspectives. « L’engouement des populations a été progressif et notamment, après le déploiement des équipes mobiles et le renforcement de nos campagnes d’information et de communication de proximité. Il s’est accentué au cours des quinze derniers jours, lorsque les partis politiques se sont impliqués dans les campagnes de sensibilisation de leurs militants, et surtout, après que le Gouvernement ai pris des mesures diligentes pour la délivrance des pièces administratives requises pour le recensement », a expliqué le Président de la CEI avant de donner Les statistiques enregistrées (données brutes), au 12 juillet 2015, date d’achèvement de la collecte des données in situ.

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News | Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative

July 22, 2015 9:14 am

News | Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative.

New On the CRAI Website: 21 July 2015

Below are the new materials added to the CRAI website 15 July – 21 July

NGO reports

The AU’s plans for an African passport a pie in the sky?

Amid the furore over Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s attendance, along with celebrities like Angelina Jolie, some of the discussions at last month’s African Union (AU) summit in Johannesburg went largely unnoticed.

One of these is a renewed call for African countries to open their borders and for regional economic communities (RECs) to do this by no later than 2018.

Is the AU way ahead of its time? Or is this just a desperate measure to find alternatives for Africans who are so eager to leave their own countries that they risk life and limb to settle elsewhere?

Birth registration in emergencies: a review of best practices in humanitarian action

Registering a birth is the first legal acknowledgement of a child’s existence; without proof of identity a child is invisible to the authorities. In many countries a birth certificate is a key document to gain access to basic services and to exercise fundamental human rights.

In emergency situations, a child´s vulnerability to abuse is very high; boys and girls routinely become separated from their families or care givers and are vulnerable to physical abuse, neglect, sexual and economic exploitation, discrimination, gender-based violence and recruitment into armed groups. Birth registration as part of a functional CRVS system can help build a protective environment for children in many ways. Where children are registered and the records are well kept, family tracing for separated children becomes easier as there is documentation of their parents and their origin. In cases of child marriage or the worst forms of child labour, proof of age can help aid children and prosecute perpetrators. Birth registration also offers a degree of legal protection, and can help children claim their inheritance rights.

News articles

Nigeria: Connecting Citizens With Govt Through Smartcard

The Guardian

It must have appeared daunting initially and many in Ondo State, pooh-poohed the idea, dismissing it as unworkable, impracticable.

But today, that dream has become a reality and the goal of drastically reducing maternal and child mortality to a level as low as obtains in developed countries is now realizable, thanks to an Automated Teller Machine-like card that contains a chip embedded in it.

Today in Ondo State, every hospital is home to a pregnant woman regardless of where she registered for ante-natal.

ECOWAS to issue new biometric cards for inter-border movement

The Guardian

The cross-border initiative programme of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) may begin to bear fruit next year as the community has planned to issue biometric cards in January 2016.

The cards will grant easier access to citizens of ECOWAS member-states across the region. ECOWAS Vice President, Toga Gayewea McIntosh, who gave this hint while speaking with journalists during the 10th meeting of the Strategic Planning Co-ordinating Committee (SPCC) held in Lagos, said leaders of member-states have already approved the implementation of Common External Tariff (CET).

He said: “You will no longer need to carry your passport when travelling within the region, McIntosh said. Furthermore, SPCC members have met to finalise and adopt the first working draft of the Community Strategic Frame-work (CSF) that would guide the process of community development programmes between 2016 and 2020.”

News articles

Kenya: Integrate Somali Refugees Into Kenya Society

The Star

There are more than half a million refugees in Kenya, trapped in protracted situations with few opportunities for self-reliance. Some Somali refugees have stayed at the Dadaab camp for 25 years. Their prolonged stay is not in any way illegal but it should be a concern to all that we ought to find lasting solutions for them.

A tripartite agreement signed in 2013 by the UNHCR and the governments of Kenya and Somalia set out a framework for voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees. It is expected that a few Somalis, if not all, will voluntarily return home.

The other two durable options accepted internationally are resettlement to third countries and local integration.

African civil registration experts meet in Zimbabwe

Star Africa

Representatives of documentation registries from more than 40 African countries are meeting in the Zimbabwean capital Harare to discuss ways of improving the registration processes in their territories. Officially opening the meeting, Zimbabwe’s newly appointed Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo urged African countries to embrace new technologies as they seek to strengthen their capacity to improve their documentation processes.

He noted that the use of specially designed and appropriate electronic gadgets was becoming the norm in civil registration around the world and Africa should not be left behind.

He however cautioned that African countries should guard against rushing to accept all electronic gadgets as some of these would comprise their security.

The flight of the millionaires

The Citizen

South Africa has seen a net outflow of 8 000 dollar millionaires over the last fifteen years.

According to a new study from LIO Global and New World Wealth, this is among the largest migrations of high net worth individuals (HNWI) away from any country over this period.

The Cairo streets where girls pretend to be boys

The Guardian

Manal and Ahmed don’t look alike. Manal holds her infant son, who plays with the folds of her hijab. Ahmed looms from a photograph behind her, a baseball cap on his head. Manal is a shy young mum, Ahmed an aggressive young man. They seem like different people.

Except, they’re the same person. “That,” says Manal, pointing at the picture of Ahmed, “is me. And my boys’ clothes are downstairs.”

Dual citizenship

The Post

Editor,

The proposed adoption of the dual citizenship clause in the Zambian constitution through Parliament is a double-edged sword that is bound to hurt ordinary Zambians more and reverse the drive for indigenous Zambian participation in the economy.

The first 27 years after independence (1964-1991) were spent nationalising the economy, which left the economy in tatters and most Zambians very poor.

New On the CRAI Website: 5 May 2015

May 6, 2015 7:49 am

Below are the new materials added to the CRAI website 29 April – 5 May

News articles

Kgafela II & Family Have No Sa Passports, Ids

The Monitor

“We are ridiculed as “batho ba Botswana”(people from Botswana) when we claim our legitimate birth right.’’

It has come to light that contrary to general assumptions that Bakgatla King Kgafela II has attained South African citizenship, the king together with his family and uncle Ramono are being frustrated by the South African government in their efforts to get South African passports and Identity cards.

This frustration has been laid bare by none other than Kgafela himself, writing for his blog, the king’s journal.

Zimbabwe: Dual Citizenship – the People Have Spoken

The Herald

This writer was under the impression that the dual citizenship debate was now water under the bridge. How could it not be? First there is Chapter 3 in our Constitution, then there are the two cases of Mutumwa Dziva Mawere v Registrar- General and three others. This was one of the first cases to be heard before the ConCourt since its inception under the new Constitution.

Then there was the case of Farai Daniel Madzimbamuto v Registrar-General and three others. But here is a challenge to every Zimbabwean out there, check your passport. Even if you collected it yesterday you will see, “A citizen of Zimbabwe who is 18 or above may not be a citizen of another country. A citizen of Zimbabwe who makes use of the passport of another government commits an offence . . .”

CEDEAO : des experts se penchent sur les solutions d’une immigration responsable

La Nouvelle Tribune

Depuis le lundi 27 avril, une réunion d’experts de haut niveau se tient au Novotel de Cotonou sur la gestion de l’identité et l’Etat civil. Organisée par la Cedeao avec l’appui du projet « Appui à la libre circulation des personnes et la migration en Afrique de l’Ouest »(Fmm west Africa), elle a permis de proposer des modalités pour assurer un meilleur processus d’inscription à l’Etat civil.

Chefs d’agence, fonctionnaires de haut niveau de l’immigration et des services de l’état civil des Etats membres de la Cedeao, fonctionnaires des directions en charge de la libre circulation et du tourisme de la Cedeao, experts de l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations(Oim) et experts internationaux en matière de l’identité…tous sont à Cotonou pour participer à cette réunion.

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Nationality laws – a new battleground for women’s equality

openDemocracy

The annual session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, held in New York last March, marked 20 years of the Beijing Declaration – where states committed to ensure equality between men and women.

The session saw UN member states, civil society and the wider gender equality community join together to celebrate progress and outline challenges faced in advancing global gender equality.

The Campaign to End Statelessness, May 2015 Update

UNHCR

A new study on ‘The Right to a Nationality in Africa’ was launched on 29 January 2015 at an event jointly organized by the African Union Commission, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and UNHCR, as part of the 24th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Keynote speakers included President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Mr. Alassane Ouattara, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Mrs. Zainabo Sylvie Kayitesi and Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons for the African Commission, Mrs. Maya Sahli Fadel and High Commissioner António Guterres. The speeches underscored the need for reforms of nationality laws and documentation procedures throughout the continent, the importance of resolving large-scale situations of statelessness which can fuel displacement and instability, and the urgent need for a Protocol on the Right to a Nationality in Africa.

Reflections on the future of legal identity

The World Bank

What is “legal identity” and what might its future hold? This was the question discussed at the Future of Legal Identity Colloquium in The Hague, Netherlands last week.

At this workshop, a variety of social scientists, historians, policy researchers and development practitioners examined the various forms of civil registration and identification currently used and introduced around the world. Participants considered the opportunities and implications of the choices that poor states, in particular, currently face.

Mugabe Still to Align Laws with New Constitution

The Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act must be amended to bring it into line with Chapter 3 of the Constitution, which protects the rights of citizens and limits the circumstances in which people can be deprived of their citizenship. In particular:

Citizens by birth must be protected from being deprived of their citizenship, and the grounds on which citizenship may be revoked must be adjusted.

The grounds on which citizens by registration may be deprived of their citizenship must be limited to those set out in section 39 of the Constitution.

Foundlings [children under the age of 15 of unknown parentage who are found in Zimbabwe] must be accorded their right to Zimbabwean citizenship.

The new Citizenship and Immigration Board mandated by section 41 of the Constitution must be established.

New On the CRAI Website: 14 April 2015

April 17, 2015 9:08 am

New On the CRAI Website: 14 April 2015

Below are the new materials added to the CRAI website 8 April – 14 April

News articles

South Sudan officials collecting higher fee for passports issued in Kampala

Radio Tamazuj

Officials from South Sudan Ministry of Interior say they have opened up a branch for issuing passports and nationality identification cards to South Sudanese living in Uganda’s capital Kampala. They are charging higher fees for these documents than those charged in Juba.

Dual Citizenship: Choose This Day Who You Will Serve, America Or Liberia

GNN Liberia

About a decade ago, some well-placed Liberians called for the repeal of the section of the Liberian constitution that prohibits people of non-negro descent to become citizens of Liberia. These Liberians attempted to assuage the fearof citizens that white people, including people with non-negro ancestry who may have the economic power, would buy off the land and natural resources and leave the original people high and dry. They argued that good laws dealing with land and property ownership would mitigate any foreseeable problem. The issue, up to this day, is considered too hot to touch, and too sensitive to contest. The debate has since probably died the natural death.

West Africa: Liberia Increases Cost to Obtain ECOWAS Biometric Passport

Front Page Africa

The government of Liberia through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning has announced an increase in the cost of obtaining an ECOWAS Biometric Passport. The new fee is US$50 and the regulation takes effect on April 30. In a release issued by the Finance and Development Planning Ministry on Monday, the ministry maintained that it increased the fees in keeping with law.

Mali: Passeport et carte d’identité nationale : Le mensonge grotesque de la hiérarchie

Maliactu.net

On a beau clamé haut et fort qu’il n’y a pas de pénurie de cartes d’identité et de passeports au Mali, force est de constater que leur acquisition relève du parcours du combattant. Pour en avoir, il faudra se lever très tôt le matin (parfois 2h du mat) pour aller…faire la queue sur les lieux de délivrance. Avec une chance élevée de retourner, pourtant, bredouille. Et les poches… vidées.

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News articles

Liberia Vote on 19 Propositions for Constitution Amendment

Front Page Africa

Under tight security presence, delegates at the constitutional review conference in Gbarnga Thursday overwhelmingly voted for nineteen prepositions for possible amendments in the current Liberian constitution. Despite a two day protest by Muslims against the restoration of Liberia to a Christian nation, delegates at the conference voted overwhelmingly in favor of the recommendations culled from series of nationwide town hall discussions almost a year ago.

Individuals Without Nationalities Are Deprived of the “Right to Have Rights” in West Africa

TheHuffingtonPost.com

Ousmane has been stateless all his life. His family — who were from Burkina Faso — were living in Côte d’Ivoire at the time of his birth — a birth, however, that was not registered. Abducted from his family when he was 6 years old to work on cocoa plantations, he has lost all ties with his parents and is unable to establish their identity. As a result, the authorities of neither Côte d’Ivoire nor Burkina Faso recognized him as a national of their country.

ANC Slams Liberia Amendment Abolishing Dual Citizenship

Front Page Africa

Please find below the ANC’S positions on the proposed amendments adopted by the recently concluded National Constitution Conference (Conference) in Gbarnga.

By way of background, the Constitution Reform Commission (CRC), whose members were appointed by the President and charged with the responsibility of overseeing a process that would lead to reforms to our Constitution, presented delegates at the Conference with 25 proposed amendments. The CRC claims that the proposed amendments were the result of consultations it had in all 73 legislative districts of Liberia and the Diaspora.

The Supreme Court on statelessness, EU citizenship and proportionality | UK Human Rights Blog

March 31, 2015 2:50 pm

Pham v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] UKSC 19

On first glance, this was not a judgment about human rights. It concerned the definition of statelessness under article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and raised issues of competence and jurisdiction in relation to EU citizenship. Its specific interest for human rights lawyers lies primarily in the observations about the principle of proportionality; and in where the case, which most certainly does raise human rights issues, is likely to go next.

The Supreme Court on statelessness, EU citizenship and proportionality | UK Human Rights Blog.

New On the CRAI Website: 17 March 2015

March 20, 2015 10:37 am

New On the CRAI Website: 17 March 2015.

New On the CRAI Website: 17 March 2015

Below are the new materials added to the CRAI website 11 March – 17 March

New laws added to the database

Ghana Refugee Law, 1992

CRAI has recently added to its database Ghana Refugee Law. According to the law a refugee is a person that falls within the definitions provided in the 1951 Refugee Convention and the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee. The law holds that every person granted refugee status in Ghana shall be entitled to the rights and be subject to the duties specified in these two international instruments as well. In addition, it holds that every recognised refugee and the members of his family shall be issued with identity cards, residence permits and a UN travel documents.

The law also establishes the Refugee Board, a body responsible for the implementation of the law. The body’s mandate includes the registration of refugees and the assessment of their applications.

Gambia Refugee Act 2008

CRAI has recently added to its database Gambia Refugee Act. The Act adopts the definition of a refugee from the 1951 Refugee Convention and the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee. The Act requires any refugee to present himself or herself before the authorities or the UNHCR within 30 days after entering the country or after the occurrence of the events giving rise to his or her refugee claim. A recognised refugee, according to the Act, is entitled to a Refugee Identity Card and a Convention Travel Document.

The Act holds that a refugee may be expelled on grounds of national security or public order. In addition, it requires refugees in The Gambia to abstain from any subversive activities, including through the press, directed against The Gambia or any foreign State. The Act ensures refugees’ freedom to move freely within, and to settle anywhere in, The Gambia. This right, however, may be curtailed in situations of mass influx.

The Act also establishes the Gambia Commission for Refugees, mandated to ensure its implementation.

Liberia: Stand Against Dual Citizenship

The News (Monrovia)

The Pastor of New Water in the Desert Assembly (NWIDA), the headquarters congregation of the Apostolic Pentecostal Church (APC) has called on Liberians to stand against dual citizenship.

He believes that if dual citizenship is rejected it would avoid recreating what he calls the age-old “Americo-Liberian – Country” Divide that plunged the country into a bloody coup and a devastating civil war.

Rev. Dr. Kortu K. Brown spoke during a Divine and Thanksgiving Worship Service on Sunday, March 1, 2015. He said the current dual citizenship drive is not timely.

What other African elections tell us about Nigeria’s bet on biometrics

Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economy and home to almost 180 million people, will hold elections on March 28, a six-week delay after its initial date. While international commentators focus debate on the Boko Haram crisis and the risk of electoral violence, another novelty in this 2015 election has gone relatively overlooked: the use of new biometric voting technology.

Every Nigerian voter is supposed to receive a permanent voter card, which stores biometric information such as fingerprints and facial image. At the polls, the voters will present their cards and a voter card reader will verify their name on the voter roll and the authenticity of the card.

UN conference in New York to focus on stateless people

The Irish Times

The world’s 10 million stateless people will be looking to a conference taking place today in New York for respite from a status that leaves them unable fully to take part in the society in which they live or to move to a country where they can.

This is because, while they may live in the same location as their parents and grandparents did before them, they remain unrecognised by the authorities exercising jurisdiction over that location.

The Rohingya people of Burma (Myanmar), for instance, of whom there are 1.3 million, including 140,000 who live in internal displacement camps, remain almost entirely unrecognised by their own government. They are denied citizenship and may not travel freely.

Equal Rights Trust Address Gender Inequality in Nationality Laws at UN Commission on the Status of Women Event

The Equal Rights Trust’s Dimitrina Petrova will address leading scholars and activists on how to achieve gender equality in nationality laws during a parallel event of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)’s annual meeting this week.

In 2015, 27 countries retain laws which prevent women from conferring nationality on their children; more than 60 countries deny women equal rights to acquire, retain or change their nationality. These laws have devastating impacts on women and their families, giving rise to statelessness, limiting access to public education and health care, and increasing the risk of gender-based violence, unemployment and poverty.

Liberia: Dual Citizenship Marginalization Worries Diaspora Returnees

The Inquirer (Monrovia)

The current debates to consider legislation or constitutional review on “Dual Citizenship” for Liberians diaspora in the United States of America, elsewhere as well as future challenges for job marginalization have become worrisome for many Liberian citizens wanting to return to their land of nativity, says a Liberian home comer Jefferson Bates.

According to Mr. Jefferson Bates, a Liberian who returned home recently after years of educational sojourn, “we’ve received reports that most of our brothers and sisters who have volunteered to come home and contribute their quota towards nation building were not given the opportunity, either because they are not favored or confidant of the President.

Press statement: Court to rule on refugee children’s right to documentation

Lawyers for Human Rights

Lawyers for Human Rights appeared in the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday on behalf of a number of separated minors to deal with access to education and documentation for this vulnerable group.

An interim order was granted in 2013 guaranteeing asylum seeker and refugee children access to education. The second part of the case was aimed at developing a path to documentation by recognising them as dependents of their de facto caregivers. At the moment the Refugees Act doesn’t make any provision for separated minors – something the case seeks to address.

The Makonde People to get Kenyan Citizenship

CCTV

A community on Kenya’s East Coast has finally won a battle stretching back more than half a century. The Makonde people migrated there for work during the colonial era and, for decades, they have been living in limbo – denied citizenship and stateless. Now though, the government has relented.

Mauritanian refugee children born in Mali get birth certificates for the first time

UNHCR

In close cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency, Malian authorities have officially delivered birth certificates to 32 Mauritanian refugee children born in Mali in a ceremony in Kayes, in the western part of the country, yesterday (6 March). The ceremony in Kayes marks the official launch of a process that will lead to the issuance of these birth certificates to a total of 7,807 Mauritanian refugees born in Mali. 12,898 Mauritanians are still in exile in Mali today, they are living together with host populations in 51 sites located near Kayes.

The Mauritanian refugees born in Mali are receiving birth certificates for the first time in their lives. Born in exile, their birth had never been registered, even though such documents are essential to establish an individual’s identity and allow one to get a nationality. Their parents found refuge in the country after fleeing the inter-community incidents that occurred in Mauritania in 1989.

ECOWAS Protocol on citizenship outdated – Monteiro

Ghana Business News

The President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, Justice Maria Do Céu Silva Monteiro, has described the 1982 regional Protocol defining community citizenship in ECOWAS as ‘outdated’.

She has thus called for its revision, which should be in line with evolving regional and international dynamics of citizenship.

A statement issued by the ECOWAS Commission and made available to the Ghana News Agency said Justice Monteiro made the call at the just ended ECOWAS ministerial meeting on Statelessness in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Read more.

New On the CRAI Website: 10 March 2015

March 11, 2015 10:21 am

New laws added to the database

Nigeria Child Rights Act, 2003

CRAI has recently added to its database Nigeria Child Rights Act. The Act recognises every child’s right to name, and holds that the birth of every child shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of the Birth, Death, etc. (Compulsory Registration) Act, 1992(Article 5). The Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of belonging to a particular community or ethnic group or by reason of the child’s place of origin, sex, religion, or political opinion. It also holds that no child shall be subjected to any “disability or deprivation” merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth (Article 10). The act provides that the State Government shall safeguard and promote the welfare of the children in need within that State, including children who are internally displaced or refugees (Article 171(1)(a), (10)(a)(iii)). It should be noted that for this Act to be effective in any of Nigeria’s 36 states, the State Assembly has to enact it as well.

Niger Loi 2014-60 modifying the Nationality Code

CRAI has just added to its database the 2014 amendments to Niger’s nationality code. These amendments allow women to extend their nationality to spouses on the same basis as men. Previously only men could pass their nationality. The new law, however, creates conditions for the acquisition of nationality by marriage that did not previously exist. Women naturalizing through their Nigerien husbands had only to wait one year, whereas couples must now wait three years to apply and must fulfill conditions such as good morals and not being implicated in banditry or drug trafficking which did not exist in the previous law.

The law also allows for dual nationality, providing that a Nigerien who voluntarily acquires another nationality does not lose their Nigerien nationality in so doing. Nigeriens can still lose their nationality by fulfilling a position in a foreign government or armed services.

UNHCR and De Facto Statelessness

De facto stateless persons are generally understood to be persons lacking an effective nationality, while de jure stateless persons are “not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law” (according to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons). This paper seeks to answer the question what de facto statelessness exactly is, what are the implications of this definition, and what is UNHCR’s mandate for addressing de facto statelessness.

Guidelines on Statelessness No. 1: The definition of “Stateless Person” in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

These Guidelines are intended to assist States, UNHCR and other actors with interpreting Article 1(1) to facilitate the identification and proper treatment of beneficiaries of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. In addition, these Guidelines may also be relevant in a range of other circumstances, such as the interpretation of other international instruments that refer to stateless persons or to related terms also undefined in treaties.

New On the CRAI Website: 3 March 2015

March 4, 2015 9:04 am

New On the CRAI Website: 3 March 2015

Below are the new materials added to the CRAI website 25 February – 3 March

New laws added to the database

Ghana Children’s Act 1998

CRAI has recently added to its database Ghana Children’s Act. The act holds that no child shall be deprived of the right to acquire a nationality from birth (Section 4). The Act states that each parent shall be responsible for the registration of the birth of their child (Section 6(4)). The Act prohibits discrimination on any ground, including discrimination against children who are refugees (Section 3).

Read the full law here.

The Act to Establish the Children’s Law of Liberia, 2011

CRAI has recently added to its database the Act to Establish the Children’s Law of Liberia. The Act does not contain any provision recognising children’s right to nationality. The Act holds that the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare shall work with “the international community, civil society organizations and government, and public agencies and service providers to provide access to basic social welfare and services” for refugees and internally displaced children (Article VII, Section 5). The annexed Act that amends the Public Health Law holds that the birth of each child shall be registered within fourteen days after the date of birth by filing with the Registrar of the district in which the birth occurred a report of such birth (Section 51.21.1).

Read the full law here.

Update on the Universal Birth Registration System of Liberia

UNICEF

Birth registration and certification1 are recognized as a right of the child in Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to Article 7 (1): “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.”

Background Note on Statelessness in West Africa

UNHCR

Statelessness refers to the condition of an individual who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.Although stateless people may sometimes also be refugees, the two categories are distinct in international law.

Read more (English, French).

Report on Nationality, Migration and Statelessness in West Africa: A study for UNHCR and IOM (draft)

UNHCR

Statelessness is a problem of significant but unknown magnitude in West Africa. It is not possible to say how many people are stateless in the sub-region; but it is certain that many hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of statelessness.

Read more (English, French).

Conclusion and recommendations of the ministerial conference on statelessness in the ECOWAS region

UNHCR

The first regional Ministerial Conference on statelessness in West Africa, which brought together delegates from the 15 ECOWAS countries, discussed key issues related to the theme of the Conference.

Read more (English, French).

CRAI News: 24 February 2015

February 25, 2015 7:37 am

New On the CRAI Website: 24 February 2015.

New On the CRAI Website: 24 February 2015

Below are the new materials added to the CRAI website 18 February – 24 February

New to the database

Gambia Children’s Act, 2005

CRAI has recently added to its database Gambia Children’s Act. The act recognises that every child has the right ‘to acquire nationality’ (Article 8). The act holds that birth registration shall be done in accordance with the relevant law (7(2), namely the Birth, Death and Marriage Registration Act). Section 7(1) of the act also provides that ‘every child has the right to a name and accordingly, shall be given a name on his or her birth or on such other dates as is dictated by the culture of his or her parents or guardians’.

The Best Interests of the Child: Harmonising Laws on Children in West and Central Africa

This report, published in 2011 by the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), reviews the extent to which a number of West and Central African countries have harmonised their laws along the lines of what is required under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). The countries covered in the report are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African republic (CAR), the Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo. A specific section (3.1, p.50) is dedicated to children’s rights to a name, nationality and knowing their parents, the challenges to these rights and to the risk of statelessness.

Read the full report.

ECOWAS Ministers to deliberate on persons without nationalities

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation

The Government of Cote d’Ivoire and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will jointly host the first Ministerial Conference on Statelessness in West Africa from February 23 to 25, in Cote d’Ivoire.

Read the full article.

More on this topic:
Liberia: Government Officials Join Global Campaign to End Statelessness
Côte d’Ivoire to host a decisive UNHCR / ECOWAS Conference to end statelessness in West Africa

Nigeria: Government Has Abandoned Bakassi Indigenes – Monarch

Premium Times

The Paramount Ruler of Bakassi in Cross River State, Etim Okon-Edet, has accused the federal government of abandoning indigenes of the community.

He also appealed to the Federal Government to ensure proper resettlement of Bakassi indigenes who were displaced from the Bakassi peninsula.

Mr. Etim stated these in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Calabar on Sunday.

Read the full article.

More on this topic:
We, The People
The card aiming to end Nigeria’s fraud problem

Better off Racist? Ex-Associate Justice Defends ‘Negro’ Clause

Front Page Africa

Monrovia – The Head of the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) and retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia Cllr. Gladys K. Johnson has defended the “Negro Clause” in the Liberian constitution, which forbids white people from gaining citizenship in Liberia.

More on this topic:
In support of Dual Citizenship in Liberia

Botswana: Official Explains Citizenship Application Process

Mmegi

Many foreigners think that it is almost impossible to get Botswana citizenship regardless of how long one has stayed in the country.

Some foreigners say that they have lived in Botswana and brought development and investment to the country but their attempts to become citizens have failed. Some say that their applications are rejected or take several years to be considered. However, a spokesman for the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Letso Mpho has said that the time taken to get a response to a citizenship applicants differs according to what an individual wants.

BURKINA FASO :: VOTE DES BURKINABÈ DE L’EXTÉRIEUR: AU CHOIX DU PROCHAIN PRÉSIDENT DU FASO

Camer.be

La question liée au vote des Burkinabé vivant à l’étranger continue de faire l’objet de débats et de plusieurs interpellations. A la suite du Conseil supérieur des Burkinabè de l’étranger (CSBE), c’est le professeur Albert Ouédraogo de monter au créneau pour sonner le Tocsin. Pour lui, la participation de la diaspora aux échéances de 2015 relève plutôt d’une volonté politique que des réalités du terrain.

Lisez plus.

S Africans can soon apply for Smart ID Cards at the bank

South African Government News Agency

As of April, eligible citizens will be able to apply for their Smart ID Cards at the Home Affair’s kiosks in their nearest bank, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Tuesday.

The Minister said this when he led a briefing by government’s Governance and Administration Cluster at the Imbizo Media Centre in Parliament on Tuesday.

The Minister said this would be a pilot project.

Nigeria: Immigration Repatriates 166 Illegal Immigrants

The Guardian

THE men of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Ogun State command has arrested 50 illegal immigrants residing in the state.

The state Comptroller of Immigration, Mrs Victoria Isang, who spoke to journalists in Abeokuta, said the feat was achieved due to the command’s zero tolerance for illegal entry into the country.

Moxico: Unita pede reforço no apoio aos ex-refugiados

Agencia Angola Press

Segundo o político, que falava à Angop, a propósito do regresso dos angolanos, é preciso que se reforce as condições básicas alimentares e celeridade na atribuição de documentos de nacionalidade aos ex-refugiados.

Acrescentou que após longos anos no exterior, a população começa uma nova fase, daí que a intervenção do Minars (Ministério da Assistência e Reinserção Social), em atribuir material para o auto-sustento das famílias, é imprescindível, como aposta na agricultura e a promoção de pequenos negócios.

We will deport you, Makonde told

Daily Nation

Makonde and Pemba people from Mozambique and Tanzania who do not want to become Kenyans will be sent back to their countries of origin.

The warning was made on Thursday by Msambweni Sub-County Commissioner Mwangangi Mwania, following reports that some of the people boycotted registration for Kenyan IDs.

Grappling with identity: In the footsteps of Africa’s ‘nowhere and everywhere children’

Mail & Guardian Africa

IN 2007, when Allan-Roy Sekeitto won the opportunity to participate in a continental reality television show, Imagine Africa, its organisers profiled him as a representative of two countries; South Africa and Uganda. He was born in neither.

Sekeitto, now 28, was at the time a medical student in South Africa’s University of Limpopo. He was born in Botswana, where both his parents worked.

Draft Constitution: a very good document

Zimbabwe Daily

At last, the Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution (Copac) has finalised the constitution draft and given copies to the three Principals in the inclusive government. This milestone comes after much criticism of

Copac by elements who hold the view that they should have been included in the team that was tasked with the writing of the draft constitution.

Human rights group looks to help those with no state and no future

Times Live

“The back of a police van is the only place that feels like home.”

This is the plight of a young man, Singejeje Adel, who has no family and no country that regards him as theirs. He is stateless.

Adel, 23, was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania in 1992 and has never been recognised as a citizen of any country. His mother, his only known relative, died when he was 10 and left him with no documentation to prove his identity.

Good Practices Paper – Action 1: Resolving Existing Major Situations of Statelessness

UNHCR is publishing a series of Good Practices Papers to help States, with the support of other stakeholders, achieve the goals of its Campaign to End Statelessness within 10 Years.

Each Good Practices Paper corresponds to one of the 10 Actions proposed in UNHCR’s Global Action Plan to End Statelessness: 2014 – 2024 and highlights examples of how States, UNHCR and other stakeholders have addressed statelessness in a number of countries. Solutions to the problem of statelessness have to be tailored to suit the particular circumstances prevalent in a country. As such, these examples are not intended to serve as a blueprint for strategies to counter statelessness everywhere. However, governments, NGOs, international organizations and UNHCR staff seeking to implement the Global Action Plan will be able to adapt the ideas they find in these pages to their own needs.

CRAI News: 17 February 2015

February 18, 2015 8:40 am

New On the CRAI Website: 17 February 2015.

Botswana Children’s Act 2009

CRAI has recently added to its database Botswana Children’s Act. The act recognises the right of every child in Botswana to nationality from birth (Article 12(1)). According to the act, the child’s birth certificate, issued under Botswana’s Births and Deaths Registration Act, shall be the proof of the nationality of the child. The act holds that refugee and displaced children must be provided with basic social services “as are necessary for their survival or sustenance” (Article 53). The act also prohibits discrimination on any basis (Article 7).

Night of shame in Malabo, but AFCON2015 has been the best ever for Africa’s democratic nations

Mail & Guardian Africa

MISSILE-throwing Equatorial Guinea home spectators caused a long and chaotic second-half delay as Ghana set up an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON2015) final with Cote d’Ivoire by outplaying the hosts 3-0 on Thursday night.Play was halted eight minutes from time as disgruntled home fans flung various objects on the pitch and a break of more than 35 minutes ensued before order was restored and play resumed.

Promoting Citizenship and Preventing Statelessness in South Africa: A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE

For those of us who have passports or identity documents, the key that these documents hold to accessing our basic human rights is a fact that we take for granted. We open bank accounts, enter into contracts (including marriage), register for social security, go to hospital and register the births of our children, later enrolling them in school, all without a thought to our ‘ticket’ to these services: our documentation. Yet for those without the ability to obtain proof of their identity, lack of documentation becomes the source of their social, economic and political exclusion.

Immigration arrests foreigners with Nigeria’s voter’s cards, others

The Guardian (Nigeria)

As Nigerians struggle to collect their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has intercepted and seized various security identification items from non-Nigerians.

The Public Relations Officer of the NIS, Chukwuemeka Obua, in a statement yesterday in Abuja said the Comptroller General, David Parradang, “announced the seizure of some voter’s and national identity cards from some foreigners in a renewed crackdown on irregular migrants across the country ahead of the forthcoming general elections.”

We’ll take the money but not the passport – what the HSBC Swiss leaks reveal about Africa’s high rollers

Mail & Guardian Africa

Stolen computer files with more than 100,000 names, nationalities, account information and detailed notes between the Swiss arm of Europe’s biggest bank HSBC and its clients have been revealed, and along with them, a lot of dirty laundry.

The disclosure, now dubbed “Swiss Leaks”, is the biggest such exposure in Swiss banking history. It started when a computer security specialist named Hervé Falciani stole a huge cache of data in 2007 and gave it to the French government.

A Pre-Election Report and Advisory on Violence in Nigera’s 2015 General Elections

The run-up to Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential election has been characterized by bellicose rhetoric, a rise in hate speech, and a worrisome footprint of electionrelated violence. Over a 50-day period beginning in December 2014, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has received reports of and documented over 60 separate incidents of election-related violence from 22 states spread across the six geo-politcal zones of Nigeria, in which 58 persons have so far been killed and many more injured. Separately, in the 2015 campaign season, the Commission has so far received 10 serious complaints for investigation or adjudication from political parties, NGOs, legal practitioners or private individuals, alleging election-related violence or hate speech.

Seychelles: No Happy Ending in Sight, Says Chagossian Community in Seychelles

Seychelles News Agency

The Chagossians of the Seychelles are not impressed by the outcome of the second feasibility study conducted by an independent organisation investigating whether or not they would be able to return to their native islands.

After being steadily evicted by the British to the neighbouring islands of Seychelles and Mauritius from 1968 to 1973, the roughly two thousand inhabitants of the Chagos archipelago, now scattered broadly across the Indian Ocean and the United Kingdom, have described the study as “nothing new”.

UNHCR Newsletter No 5 October 2014 – February 2015

For the first time in West Africa, a regional meeting on stateless persons will bring together ministers in charge of questions of nationality in ECOWAS member countries. High-level Ivorian authorities will partici-pate in this conference, organized jointly by UNHCR and ECOWAS in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on 23, 24 and 25 February 2015.

Read more (English, French).

Experts At 3rd Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration Call for Strenghtening of Crvs Systems to Achieve Good Governance

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Addis Ababa)

Discussions at the three-day Experts meeting that started on Monday 9 to Wednesday 11 February 2015, focussed on the reinforcement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) for the promotion of governance in Africa.

The experts meeting which took place at the Houphouet Boigny Foundation Conference Center in Yammoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, was chaired by Mr. Ibrahima Ba, Director General of the National Institute of Statistics in Côte d’Ivoire.

Kenya to grant citizenship to 3,000 stateless people

World Bulletin

The Kenyan government will by March 2015 grant citizenship to at least 3,000 stateless people under a recent decree issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Registration of Makonde tribesmen, who originate from Mozambique, along with Pemba tribesmen from Zanzibar, officially began on Thursday in the coastal county of Kwale near the Kenya-Tanzania border.

Important new guidelines on the right to birth registration and a nationality in Africa launched in Côte d’Ivoire

On 10 February 2015 a ground-breaking but not-much-heralded document on human rights in Africa was launched in Côte d’Ivoire by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

In the wake of UNHCR’s major new #ibelong campaign to end statelessness within ten years, the Committee, the official body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, has produced one of the strongest statements yet in international law on the right to a nationality for all children.

A state of statelessness

The New Age

Nelisiwe Mathe does not have a South African ID and her one-year-old baby cannot get a birth-certificate, so, as a result, together they are two stateless people born in South Africa, living in Tembisa.

The 23-year-old has been frequenting Home Affairs offices for the past four years, before her child was born, to try to get her ID document, only to be told that her ID number had been issued to another person. Mathe had to drop out of school because she could not register for her matric exams. She said she could not find work, open a business or even a bank account because her South African citizenship was not confirmed.

Sans pièce d’Etat civil : Génération sacrifiée

Le Quotidien

Ils seront des milliers de jeunes élèves à rater les examens du Baccalauréat et du Certificat de fin d’études élémentaires (Cfee) cette année, faute d’actes de naissance. Ces élèves de Tambacounda, de Kédougou, de Sédhiou ou encore de Thiès sont sacrifiés sous l’autel de la négligence parentale, mais également d’un laxisme coupable au niveau des bureaux d’Etat civil des mairies.

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Le Conseil constitutionnel valide une déchéance de nationalité contestée

February 4, 2015 10:51 am

“Le Conseil constitutionnel a validé, vendredi 23 janvier, la déchéance de la nationalité française du Franco-Marocain Ahmed Sahnouni. Le Conseil avait été saisi le 31 octobre 2014 par le Conseil d’Etat, qui lui avait transmis une question prioritaire de constitutionnalité (QPC).”

Le Conseil constitutionnel valide une déchéance de nationalité contestée. 23/01/2015

New On the CRAI Website: 20 January 2015

January 23, 2015 10:01 am

New On the CRAI Website: 20 January 2015.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers From Mixed Eritrean-Ethiopian Families in Cairo

People from mixed EritreanEthiopian families have been caught on the ‘front line’ of hostile relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia, especially since the outbreak of the 1998-2000 war between the two countries. This report, based on interviews conducted with refugees from mixed EritreanEthiopianfamilies in Egypt, seeks to explain the uniquely difficult situation still faced by this group. It contends that because of their family relations with both Eritrea and Ethiopia, people from mixed families find themselves in limbo legally, socially and psychologically, and should therefore be of concern to UNHCR’s international protection regime.

Returning Zimbabweans battle with bureaucracy

Zimbabweans who travelled to Zimbabwe before their Special Dispensation Permits were issued have complained of problems on their return to South Africa after the holidays.

Rwandans Expelled From Tanzania Get Food Aid

Rwandans who were expelled from Tanzania and settled in Bugesera District yesterday received assorted food items worth Rwf27 million.

Nigeria: Citizenship – Gov Yuguda Leads the Way

I applaud Governor Isa Yuguda’s new policy: any Nigerian that has stayed up to seven years in Bauchi State automatically becomes an indigene/a citizen of the state with full rights and responsibilities. This is the boldest statement of any sitting governor or leader in Nigeria.

Uganda opens door for non-citizens to apply for naturalisation

The Ugandan Minister of Internal Affairs, Aronda Nyakairima, has flagged off a country-wide exercise in which non-citizens, who have resided in Uganda for an aggregate period of more than twenty years, will apply for citizenship by naturalization.
The naturalization exercise which commenced Monday will end on 18th February 2015 and shall target eligible persons who are spread out in at least 80 of the country’s districts.

General Aronda explained that naturalization is a legal process by which a non-citizen can apply to become a citizen of Uganda, and emphasized that citizenship will be granted to applicants who meet the conditions set out in the laws of Uganda.

BBC News – Baby Gammy granted Australian citizenship

January 20, 2015 7:05 pm

BBC News – Baby Gammy granted Australian citizenship. 20/01/2015.

New On the CRAI Website: 18 November 2014

November 19, 2014 8:12 am

New On the CRAI Website: 18 November 2014.

Below are the new materials added to the CRAI website 12 November – 18 November

An ambitious plan to end statelessness

It is now 60 years since stateless people received recognition in international law, and the UN has two conventions (1954 and 1961) dedicated to their protection and the regularization of their situation. Yet an estimated 10 million people worldwide still suffer the problems and indignities of having no nationality.

“It may be a bit of understatement to say that these are the two least loved multilateral human rights treaties,” said Mark Manly, head of the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) statelessness unit. “For many years they were pretty much forgotten and that was in large part because they had no UN agency promoting them.”

Read the full article here.

Kuwait’s stateless Bidun ‘offered Comoros citizenship’

Tens of thousands of stateless people in Kuwait – known as Bidun – could be offered citizenship of the Comoros islands off Africa, an official says.

The senior interior ministry official told a local newspaper that the Bidun would be given special applications for economic citizenship in the Comoros.

Read the full article here.

Kuwait- Few takers seen for costly Comoros citizenship scheme

Kuwait’s announcement that tens of thousands of stateless people will be offered citizenship of the impoverished African nation of Comoros has highlighted their decades-old plight. But a representative of the community whose members demand Kuwaiti citizenship rejected the Gulf Arab state’s offer as ‘totally impractical’.

The stateless people known as Bedouns insist they were born and raised in Kuwait and thus have full rights to claim citizenship. Kuwait says a majority of the Bedouns belong to other countries and that only 34000 of them qualify for consideration of citizenship after meeting a set of stringent conditions.

Read the full article here.

Saudi authorities continue witchhunt against netizens

November 16, 2014 7:45 pm

Refworld | Saudi authorities continue witchhunt against netizens.