SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC Causes of Statelessness SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC Solomon Islands FIGURE 7 Birth registration in Samoa Lack of legal safeguards against childhood statelessness Laws 10 There are currently no legal safeguards for foundlings or children born within the territory of Samoa to stateless and/or foreign citizen parents in Samoa’s citizenship legislation. Citizenship Law 8 Jus sanguinis provisions 6 Citizenship stripping 4 Naturalized citizens may have their citizenship cancelled if the person is found to be “disloyal or disaffected towards Samoa”.1742 Naturalized citizens may also be stripped of citizenship if they reside abroad continuously for two years and are “unlikely to reside in Samoa in the future”.1743 Article 19 of the Citizenship Act stipulates a process for appeal of negative decisions on citizenship.1744 2 0 2009 (year end) 2014 (year start) 2016 (year end) 2016 Population Estimates: National Statistical Office of Samoa Administrative barriers Birth registration in Samoa is characterized by the limited scope of relevant national legislation and largely unsuccessful implementation.1745 It was noted in 2016 concluding observations for the CRC that Samoa’s birth registration had improved from 48% in 2009 to 59% in 2014.1746 By 2020, birth registration improved to 67%.1747 Due to the stigma placed on young and unwed mothers in Samoa, birth registration for children born to mothers in this situation is often done by the grandparents, making the registration for the child inaccurate.1748 The 2016 concluding observations also noted that birth registration in rural areas needs improvement.1749 Despite being responsible for managing the registry of births, staff of the Samoa Bureau of Statistics have stated they do not clearly understand the exact roles and responsibilities of the birth registration process.1750 Gaps in the legislation on birth registration (the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2002) include the lack of a mandate to issue a birth certificate at registration, lack of provisions for late registration, insufficient information required for registration, and the requirement of a fee for issuing certificates.1751 Statelessness and climate change Limitations of citizens by descent transferring citizenship to children born outside of the territory of Samoa could risk statelessness if migration increases as a result of climate change. The citizenship laws of Solomon Islands operate through a jus sanguinis structure providing that children born within or outside of the territory to a citizen of Solomon Islands gains citizenship.1752 In 2018, Solomon Islands amended their citizenship laws to remove some gender discriminatory provisions which previously limited the ability of women to confer nationality onto their foreign spouses.1753 However, gender discriminatory provisions remain in relation to the naturalization of foreign women married to citizens and women’s ability to confer citizenship to a jointly adopted child.1754 In order to gain citizenship by naturalization, foreign women married to a citizen of Solomon Islands must renounce their foreign citizenship and can only apply for naturalization after two years of marriage and only with the consent of their husband.1755 For women who have jointly adopted a child, the application for citizenship of the child can only be made by the father, denying the mother equal right to confer nationality.1756 The citizenship laws of Solomon Islands operate through a jus sanguinis structure providing that children born within or outside of the territory to a citizen of Solomon Islands gains citizenship. However, gender discriminatory provisions remain in relation to the naturalization of foreign women married to citizens and women’s ability to confer citizenship to a jointly adopted child. There are no provisions in national legislation on citizenship stipulating citizenship acquisition for foundlings and children born within the territory to stateless and/or foreign parents. Further, none of the national legislation includes a definition or any explicit mention of stateless persons. In implementation, a 2022 human rights report for Solomon Islands suggests that children born to citizen parents outside of the territory may face barriers to gaining citizenship compared 156 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) REPORT 2024 157