Citizenship Law in Africa: A Comparative Study

Citizenship laws in Africa leave many millions of people at risk of statelessness. It is impossible to put an accurate figure on the numbers affected, but stateless persons are among the continent’s most vulnerable populations. They can neither vote nor stand for office; they cannot enroll their children in school beyond primary school, travel freely, or own property; they cannot work for the government; and they are exposed to human rights abuses and extortion.

Statelessness exacerbates and underlies intercommunal, interethnic, and interracial tensions in many regions of the continent. This comparative study provides a comprehensive analysis of the provisions of the citizenship laws of all 54 African states, identifying those that are not in compliance with international law and therefore leave many without a recognized nationality. While administrative practice may mean that stateless people exist even in a country with good laws, bad laws guarantee that statelessness will result.

The recommendations in this report, which draw on widespread expert consultation, call on African states to address the problems of nationality that the continent’s history of colonization and migration has created and bring their nationality laws into line with international human rights norms.