At least 750,000 people are stateless or at risk of statelessness in West Africa. Children account for 60% of this figure.
DAKAR, SENEGAL, 19 December 2014 (UNHCR) – UNHCR’s Regional Representation in Dakar just completed this week an in-depth training on the topic of statelessness for over 30 journalists from across the West African sub-region. The training, which was given in French and English, covered a wide range of issues, including the rights of stateless people and the duties of States vis-à-vis these men, women and children. Having a nationality is “the right to have rights” explains Emmanuelle Mitte who led the training and is UNHCR’s regional expert on statelessness. “Without one, stateless people are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination and find themselves excluded from all kinds of social services such as education, healthcare, banking, to name a few, that the rest of us take for granted”. The journalists, who hailed from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria Senegal and Togo, also had the opportunity to discuss the causes and consequences of statelessness, in West Africa in general and more specifically in their respective countries…