right to acquire a nationality and to be registered immediately after birth, providing an important safeguard against childhood statelessness.11 25. In October 2017, South Sudan became a signatory to the Brazzaville Declaration on the eradication of statelessness in the Great Lakes Region.12 26. More recently, the adoption in 2024 of the African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on Specific Aspects of the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness represents an important regional development. However, the Protocol has not yet been ratified by any State, including South Sudan.13 Policy Commitments and Pledges 27. At the 2019 UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness, South Sudan made a series of pledges to address statelessness. These included adopting a National Action Plan to eradicate statelessness by 2024, reforming nationality legislation to include safeguards for children who would otherwise be stateless, strengthening access to birth registration, improving access to nationality documentation, and acceding to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions.14 28. In 2020, a National Action Plan to prevent statelessness was endorsed by the Minister of the Interior, reflecting initial steps towards implementing these commitments.15 29. At the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, South Sudan made further pledges relating to statelessness and nationality rights. These included strengthening access to birth registration, reforming nationality legislation to include safeguards against statelessness, improving access to nationality documentation, and aligning national efforts with the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness (2014–2024).16 30. In addition, South Sudan committed to integrating international standards on the prevention of statelessness into its national legal and policy framework by 2027. This includes legislating by 2025 to introduce safeguards in line with the 1954 and 1961 Conventions, finalising a comprehensive Civil Registry and Vital Statistics system by 2026, improving access to nationality documentation for those at risk of statelessness, and ensuring adequate resourcing of the Directorate of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passport and Immigration to enable effective implementation of nationality laws and procedures.17 11 African Union, ‘The African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of the Child. List of countries which have signed, ratified/acceded’, available at: https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/36804-slAFRICAN_CHARTER_ON_THE_RIGHTS_AND_WELFARE_OF_THE_CHILD.pdf. 12 UNHCR, Submission by UNHCR on South Sudan UPR40’, available at: https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=9651&file=EnglishTranslation. 13 African Union, ‘Statement by the ACHPR on the second anniversary of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Specific Aspects of the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa: Call for signature and ratification’, February 2026, available at: https://achpr.au.int/en/news/press-releases/2026-02-18/statement-african-commission-human-andpeoples-rights-second. 14 UNHCR, ‘High-level segment on statelessness: Results and highlights’, 2019, available at: https://www.unhcr.org/centralasia/sites/central-asia/files/legacy-pdf/HLS-Report.pdf. 15 Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative, ‘UNHCR campaign to end statelessness update July – September 2020’, available at: https://citizenshiprightsafrica.org/en/unhcr-campaign-to-end-statelessness-update-july-september-2020/. 16 UNHCR, Global Compact on Refugees. Multi-stakeholder pledges for the Global Refugee Forum 2023’, available at: https://globalcompactrefugees.org/pledges-contributions/multi-stakeholder-pledges-global-refugee-forum-2023. 17 Ibid. 5