The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted Resolution 234 concerning the right to nationality. The Commission reaffirmed that the right to nationality is a fundamental human right, and calls upon African states to "refrain from taking discriminatory nationality measures and to repeal laws which deny or deprive persons of their nationality."
The Resolution particularly calls upon states to adopt legislation aimed at preventing statelessness, such as: recognizing that all children have a right to the nationality of the state where they were born; prohibiting arbitrary denial or depravation of nationality; and reaffirming the equal rights of men, women, and people of any race or ethnic group to nationality. The Resolution requests African states to strengthen civil registration services for the births of children. The Resolution also requests African states to include information respecting implementation of the right to nationality in their periodic reports presented to the Commission.
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: Resolution 234 on theRight to Nationality
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights, meeting at its 53rd Ordinary Session held from 9 to 23 April
2013 in Banjul, The Gambia;
Recalling the provisions of Article 45(1) (b) of the
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which provides that the Commission
shall “ formulate and lay down, principles and rules aimed at solving legal
problems relating to human and peoples’ rights and fundamental freedoms upon
which African governments may base their legislation”;
Recalling Article 6 of the African Charter on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child which provides that every child shall have the right
from birth to a name, to be registered immediately after birth and to acquire a
nationality, and that State Parties to the Charter shall “undertake to ensure
that their Constitutional legislation recognize the principles according to
which a child shall acquire the nationality of the State in the territory of
which he has been born if, at the time of the child’s birth, he is not granted
nationality by any other State in accordance with its laws”;
Noting that the provisions of Article 2 of the
African Charter and Article 6 (g) and (h) of the Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa establish
the equal right of men and women to acquire their partner’s nationality;
Further recalling Article 15 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights which stipulates that everyone has the right to a
nationality and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality
nor denied the right to change his nationality;
Noting the provisions of other international human
rights treaties relating to nationality, including Article 5 (d)(iii) of the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, Article 24(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, Articles 7 and 8 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child, Articles 1 to 3 of the UN Convention on the Nationality of Married
Women, Article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, and the UN Convention on the Reduction of
Statelessness;
Recalling that persons arbitrarily deprived of
nationality are protected by the Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of
Refugee Problems in Africa, the UN Convention relating to the Status of
Stateless Persons, the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the
Protocol thereto;
Expressing its deep concern at the arbitrary denial or
deprivation of the nationality of persons or groups of persons by African
states, especially as a result of discrimination on grounds of race, ethnic
group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion,
national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status;
Regretting the failure of African states to ensure that
all children are registered at birth;
Convinced that it is in the general interest of the
people of Africa for all African States to recognise, guarantee and facilitate
the right to nationality of every person on the continent and to ensure that no
one is exposed to statelessness;
Reaffirms that the right to nationality of every human
person is a fundamental human right implied within the provisions of Article 5
of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and essential to the
enjoyment of other fundamental rights and freedoms under the Charter;
Calls upon African States to refrain from taking
discriminatory nationality measures and to repeal laws which deny or deprive
persons of their nationality on grounds of race, ethnic group, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin,
fortune, birth or other status, especially if such measures and laws render a
person stateless;
Calls upon African States to observe minimum procedural
standards so that decisions concerning the recognition, acquisition,
deprivation or change of nationality do not contain any elements of
arbitrariness, and are subject to review by an impartial tribunal in accordance
with their obligations under Article 7 of the African Charter;
Also calls upon African States to adopt and implement
provision in their constitutional and other legislation with a view to
preventing and reducing statelessness, consistent with fundamental principles
of international law and Article 6 of the African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child, article 6 (g)(h)in particular by:
a. Recognising that all children have the right
to the nationality of the State where they were born if they would otherwise be
stateless;
b. Prohibiting arbitrary denial or deprivation of
nationality;
c. Reaffirming the equal rights of men and women
and persons of any race or ethnic group in respect of nationality; and
Calls upon African States to ratify all relevant
international and African human rights treaties, including the Convention
relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction
of Statelessness;
Requests African States to take the necessary measures
to strengthen civil registration services to ensure the prompt registration of
the births of all children on their territory, without discrimination;
Requests African States to include information on the
recognition, respect and implementation of the right to nationality in their
periodic reports presented to the Commission under Article 62 of the African
Charter and Article 26 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa;
Considering the necessity to carry out an in-depth
research on issues relating to the right to nationality:
- Decides to
assign the task to the Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum seekers;
Displaced and Migrants in Africa;
- Calls upon
civil society and other stakeholders to give full support to the mandate of the
Special Rapporteur.
Banjul, The
Gambia, 23 April 2013
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