Fight against statelessness in West Africa

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Fight against statelessness in West Africa

UNHCR, 02 Oct 2015

URL: http://kora.unhcr.org/fight-statelessness-west-africa/
Achievements were presented at the consultative conference in Abidjan

ABIDJAN, CÔTE D’IVOIRE, 2 October 2015 (UNHCR) – The consultative conference on citizenship and statelessness in West Africa ended this week after two days of fruitful exchanges in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on 28-30 September. This event, which was organized by UNHCR, in close collaboration with Open Society Foundations, was the first official gathering of Government and civil society representatives working on these issues since the Ministerial Conference on Statelessness in West Africa, held in February 2015.

It was on that historic occasion that the Member States of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) adopted the Abidjan Declaration on the Prevention, Reduction and Elimination of Statelessness and on the Protection of Stateless People. Endorsed by all of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, this Declaration sets out 25 commitments that aim to prevent, reduce and ultimately end statelessness within West Africa.

Close to a million people are stateless or at risk of statelessness in West Africa. Stateless people are not recognized as the citizens of any State, including the one in which they live. Without a nationality, they are often subject to life in limbo, with limited access to education, healthcare, and employment. They are also vulnerable to discrimination and abuse as they have no legal existence and are not recognized in the eyes of the law. The consultative conference held this week was an opportunity for the participants, who hailed from Government, civil society, academia and the media, to present the progress made since February 2015 in preventing and reducing statelessness in their respective countries.

The Member States of ECOWAS are clearly resolved to end statelessness on their soil. Their commitment is indisputable, as illustrated by the fact than more than half have already ratified the two international conventions relating to statelessness. Since the Abidjan Conference, another three States have begun the procedures to accede to these legal instruments [1], four have put in place national actions plans to combat statelessness [2], and nine have nominated a national coordinator for issues relating to statelessness [3]. A draft protocol on nationality and the eradication of statelessness in Africa has been approved by the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and will be submitted for adoption by the African Union.

“The Ivorian Government has already made great progress in tackling statelessness, which affects close to 700,000 people here” says Mohamed Toure, UNHCR Representative in Côte d’Ivoire. “It launched a special program to resolve the problem of historical migrants who could not confirm their Ivorian nationality, and is working to ensure that all children are registered at birth. There’s still work to be done to address gaps in the country’s nationality legislation, especially with regards to foundlings, and UNHCR remains fully committed to collaborating with the authorities on this important issue”.

The deliberations also focused on ways in which the achievements made so far can be consolidated going forward. Closer collaboration between Government and civil society was recommended as a key step in this regard: civil society organizations, including legal clinics and human rights institutions, are in frequent contact with the populations most at risk and are best equipped to identify the obstacles that prevent them from confirming or acquiring a nationality.

Ibrahima Kane, the Open Society Institute’s Advocacy Director with the African Union, remarked that in the past six months, States have undertaken measures to implement the measures contained in the Declaration. “But a lot remains to be done before they succeed in truly eradicating statelessness by 2024 [4]. One solution to explore is greater collaboration between the States and civil society, whose proximity to the people, including stateless people and people at risk of statelessness, is a great asset”.

[1] Mali, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone.
[2] Benin, Gambia, Liberia and Mali.
[3] Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger and Sierra Leone.
[4] UNHCR launched in November 2014 a global campaign to eradicate statelessness by 2024.

For more information, please contact:
In Abidjan:
Nora Sturm, Public Information Officer, sturmn@unhcr.org, cell: + 225 06 43 07 61

In Dakar
Helene Caux, Senior Regional Public Information Officer, caux@unhcr.org, cell + 221 77 333 1291, Twitter: @helenecaux
Emmanuelle Mitte, Senior Regional Protection Officer (Statelessness) mitte@unhcr.org, cell + 221 33 820 84 13