person is
someone with
no nationality
person is
someone with
no nationality
Identifying gaps in law and policy on the protection of stateless people and the prevention of statelessness.
Comparative Analysis
Fostering dialogue on common challenges and potential solutions to improve the protection of stateless people.
Advocacy
Enhancing advocacy on law and policy reform towards universal access to nationality rights and the eradication of statelessness.
The tool uses 8 key indicators to assess and score each country:
- Ratification of international and regional instruments
- Access to birth registration and birth certificates
- Prevention of statelessness at birth
- Gender equality in nationality laws and birth registration laws
- Naturalisation
- Loss and deprivation of nationality
- Due process / just administrative action in nationality administration
- Resolution of status of persons of unknown nationality
Introducing The Southern African Nationality Rights Index
Stateless people are those with no nationality. Thousands of people in Africa are affected by statelessness because of state succession, gaps in nationality laws, barriers to birth registration, discrimination, displacement, and arbitrary deprivation of citizenship.
Statelessness denies many basic human rights: education, employment, marriage, registering a child, or legal existence
Many African states lack effective protection or prevention laws on statelessness and there is no clear, consistent, or comprehensive approach to identify stateless people, to grant protection to stateless people, and to prevent childhood statelessness.
In response to this, SANN has launched the Southern African Nationality Rights Index – a survey tool that analyses law, policy, and practice country-by-country and benchmarks them against international norms and good practice to identify areas of improvement and examples of best practice.
Click on the “Southern African Nationality Rights Index” page to see the available information on:
Republic of South Africa
South Africa takes first place with only 0.5% more than Eswatini. South Africa earns points for upholding provisions of equality in their nationality laws and for including important safeguards for children.
It loses points, however, for not being party to the UN Statelessness Conventions, and for not implementing its progressive laws effectively. South Africa has the main due process procedures in place, but still has important gaps in the law.
Lastly, like most of the SADC countries, South Africa scores almost nothing for special measures to resolving the status of populations at risk of statelessness.
The Kingdom of Eswatini
Eswatini scores an almost perfect score for ratification of relevant instruments, and comes in second for that reason.
Eswatini’s laws do, however, still contain some of the most gender unequal provisions in the region and loses points for that.
Like most of the SADC countries they lose points on special measures for stateless persons, and due process procedures.
Zimbabwe
In third place is Zimbabwe, also mainly for the fact that they have ratified one of the UN Statelessness Conventions and other relevant treaties. They have one of the only and most progressive foundling provisions in the region.
Like the other countries, they lose points for lack of due process and special measures to resolve statelessness.
United Republic of Tanzania
Tanzania comes in fourth because of its very low birth registration rates, the fact that it has not ratified the UN statelessness treaties, it is the only other country in SADC (with Eswatini) that still contain gender discrimination in its laws, and it excludes judicial review for nationality decisions. It scores two points for awarding citizenship to long term refugees.
Republic of Botswana
In last place is Botswana. This score comes about because it is not party to the relevant treaties, it does not have measures in place to prevent statelessness at birth, nor do they have provisions for due process in place, and no special measures have been taken to resolve statelessness.