STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY 1. Summary The Partner States of the East African Community (EAC) host significant populations of people that are stateless or at risk of statelessness. That is, of people for whom there is a possibility or probability that they are “not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law”, the international law definition of a stateless person. It is not possible to put a number on the total population, nor on the smaller but still significant number of people who are in fact stateless. It is, however, possible to identify the groups most at risk of statelessness, which are similar to those in the rest of the African continent. They fall into four main groups: migrants—historical or contemporary— and their descendants; refugees and former refugees, as well as those “returned” to a country of origin where they have few current links; border populations, including nomadic and pastoralist ethnic groups who regularly cross borders, as well as those affected by border disputes or transfers of territory; and orphans and other vulnerable children, including those trafficked for various purposes. The reasons why a significant number of people are at risk of statelessness in the region relate to the colonial history of Africa and arbitrary delineation of borders which divided many ethnic groups between two or more countries, as well as the challenges created by conflict and forced displacement. All six countries either host significant populations of long-term refugees or have been the source of refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries; sometimes both. Civil registration and identification systems bequeathed by the colonial powers were weak and centred on control of the “native” population rather than the effective administration of the state to ensure the rights of all. The EAC common market protocol provides for standardisation of identification and travel documents. A new passport format was introduced from January 2017, and national identity cards will be accepted travel documents among the countries of the region. In line with these commitments, and with longstanding national legislation, Tanzania and Uganda have both recently introduced a requirement that adult nationals carry a national identity card recording their legal status in the country. South Sudan, which joined the EAC in 2016, introduced a national identity card from January 2012, six months after it gained independence from Sudan. The extent of the problem of statelessness is, paradoxically, in some ways being revealed by efforts to strengthen administrative systems and ensure universal birth registration and access to identity documents. Many people are only now finding, as registration processes are implemented for these new national identity cards, that they are in fact not considered as nationals of these three countries. Appeal and review processes are not yet sufficiently tested to know if this will be a permanent problem. The impact of lack of recognition as a national can be severe. The most serious risk is arbitrary detention and expulsion, which has been practised by several EAC countries, and has impacted not only people who are foreigners (although long-term residents), but also people who may in fact be nationals or entitled to acquire nationality. Where the requirement to hold a national identity card has been in place since independence (in Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi), lack of an identity card can lead to complete exclusion from public and private benefits, including not only the possibility of obtaining a passport for international travel, or the right to vote or stand for public office, but also a job in the formal sector; the ability to complete school leaving exams; access to health care and financial services, or any number of other entitlements. In Tanzania and Uganda, until recently nobody has been required to hold identification papers, and access to services has not therefore depended on a national identity card. But this is changing. Historically, it has been possible for a peasant farmer in a remote area or a nomad moving seasonally with the cattle and remaining entirely in the informal sector to avoid the need for documentation, even in countries where an ID card has been required. But requirements to have identity documents are becoming ever more pervasive. Even a person from the most remote community will interact with the modern state at some point, and therefore will require a document showing who the person is and, in most cases, to which state or states he or she belongs. The rules governing automatic attribution or voluntary acquisition of nationality, and the issue of identity documents recognising nationality, are thus ever more critical. UNHCR / September 2018 3