By: Jeggan Grey-Johnson
Communications and Advocacy Officer-AfriMAP
Renowned humanitarian and legendry musician, Harry Belafonte once famously said: “For children to count, they must be counted”, how right he was. However, these words of wisdom seemed to have fallen on deaf ears in Africa, because every year, more than 16 million children face the risk of being non-persons, because they happen to be born in a place not of their own choosing. In many instances, the country which they find themselves in may not recognize them as one of their own. This is appalling and shameful. It is a crisis that must be addressed. The African continent has reached a point where many of these innocent infants becoming non-citizens in their country of origin, and thus non-Africans on the African continent are an everyday reality. Few countries in Africa provide for an explicit right to a nationality. More than half of the states’ laws discriminate against women, who are unable to pass on their citizenship to their foreign spouses or even their own children. Despite the fact state parties have signed onto the most universally embraced human rights treaty in history, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), in practice, the sections detailing the right to citizenship and therefore to an identity and protection from the state (articles 7 and 8 of the CRC and article 6.2;3 and 4 of the ACRWC), are often ignored.
There is a broad agreement among African leaders that the right to belong, have an identity, and be protected by the state, cannot be compromised. However, this consensus has not translated into actuality. The state parties that signed onto the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ushered in 20 years ago this month, as well as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which entered into force 10 years ago, have for the most part, failed to deliver on their promises on the right to citizenship for every child. It is difficult to understand why, in these advanced times, when issues of climate change, governance, economic recovery and poverty eradication dominate the global agenda, aged issues such as an identity and a right to a nationality are still being debated and even fought over in places like Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, and other places on the African continent. It is difficult to fathom the thought that in Africa, in the 21st Century, millions of children are denied the right to basic sanitation, access to schools, health care and protection, not because they are not Africans, but because some people in power- African leaders, say they do not deserve to be. This colossal failure to fulfill the promise to children by leaders in positions of power, has contributed to the inability of many African countries attaining the MDGs by 2015, an Africa Fit for Children and Abuja Targets promises.
The fact that the first right- to exist, is discriminately applied, means that the willful act of impoverishment is systematically being perpetrated, denial of access to child health and education is actively being practiced, prevention of malaria, HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases are woefully being neglected, access to water and sanitation and hygiene are zealously being ignored, and gender empowerment deliberately suppressed. This is so, because all of the MDGs have children as a primary focus. And if children at birth are being marginalized and rendered unfit to belong, then generations that will determine Africa’s future are being unfairly sanctioned and denied the right to decent life from the word-‘Go!’
A seismic shift on the issue of advocating for the right to citizenship for every person, starting with children is therefore needed. This must involve everyone, and not just the child focused agencies, because none have a distinct claim of advocating for child rights, because children are everybody’s business. Postponement of tackling the crises is not the answer. We must seek solutions now, because the timelines set for registered results have been missed long ago. The opportunity is therefore accorded to all to form an alliance with the aim of advocating strategically and appealing unequivocally for the issue of citizenship to be a priority for all states, to ensure that no person should be left to feel invisible.
The issue of statelessness should be focused on starting with the ones that are the most affected, the vulnerable and the voiceless- children, who are deprived of the right to meet their full potential of contributing to the future wealth of an Africa, that espouses an accelerated process toward economic and political integration. But Africa may not achieve this aim, simply because it is people who make integration possible and not policies, or institutions alone; and without African citizens driving the process of integration, the possibilities of attaining a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa will be slim.
Surely after two decades of the global promise to children, and a decade after a continental declaration to recognize and treat all children equally, the greatest gift that any state can give is recognition. The time has come therefore, for an affirmation through a united voice for change, which calls for a defeat of injustice. It is time for a continental treaty on the right to a nationality that guarantees this commitment by every state in Africa. The time has come for Africa to embrace the millions more of its citizens, the very ones, that will move it toward hope, spreading the wings of freedom and sowing the seeds of responsibility. This is the time to follow through on promises made and guided by the indelible undertaking of 52 states, to give African children the right start in life at the very beginning of life, at birth. Millions of children deserve to be counted because they too possess an inalienable right to belong.
Background:
Two reports entitled: Struggles for citizenship in Africa and citizenship Law in Africa, were officially launched in Kampala, Uganda on 21 October, 2009. The reports, jointly published by AfriMAP and the Open Justice Initiative, both of which are part of the Open Society Institute, is the culmination of years of research, analyze citizenship laws from all 53 countries in Africa. Key findings include:
Only a handful of African countries provide in law for children born on their soil to have a right to their nationality if they would otherwise be stateless, despite the provisions of international treaties that require this protection.
The laws of at least half a dozen countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Uganda, include provisions that restrict nationality from birth to members of certain ethnic groups.
More than half of Africa’s countries still discriminate against women and deny them the right to pass citizenship to their children or husbands.
Though almost all countries have laws allowing foreigners to naturalise, in practice, citizenship is often almost impossible to obtain.
Half of Africa’s states allow revocation of a person’s birth nationality and in many countries governments can rescind naturalised citizenship on highly arbitrary grounds.
AfriMAP, the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project, is an initiative of the Soros foundation network’s four African foundations, and works with national civil society organizations to conduct systematic audits of government performance in three areas: the justice sector and the rule of law; political participation and democracy; and effective delivery of public services.
The Open Society Justice Initiative pursues law reform activities grounded in the protection of human rights, and contributes to the development of legal capacity for open societies worldwide. The Justice Initiative combines litigation, legal advocacy, technical assistance, and the dissemination of knowledge to secure advances in the following priority areas: national criminal justice, international justice, freedom of information and expression, and equality and citizenship. Its offices are in Abuja, Brussels, Budapest, London, New York, and Washington, D.C.
The Open Society Institute, part of the Soros foundation network, works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve its mission, OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI builds alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. OSI places a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities.
For more information please contact:
Jeggan Grey-Johnson
jeggangj@osisa.org
Cell: +27 11 587 5099
Or visit: www.afrimap.org
