STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY Despite the concerns around discrimination and administrative problems, the implementation of Uganda’s identity card deserves further examination for positive lessons for other countries. The initial mass registration phase was carried out under existing legislation, the Citizenship and Immigration Control Act 1999, on a project basis which allowed for the participation of many government departments in the process. In particular, the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration was fully involved, which facilitated verification of citizenship; and also, during a second phase of registration, there was the possibility of registering eligible people as citizens, as well as registration for the purposes of issuing an identity card.103 In zones where there were significant numbers of people whose citizenship status was questioned, many applications were referred to Kampala for control and final decision.104 Unfortunately, there was no possibility for these cases to be heard in person, with decisions made only on the basis of documents. From January 2016, population registration moved away from this joint project structure and onto a more regular footing, with the entry into force of new legislation, the Registration of Persons Act 2015, and the establishment of a new agency, the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) to be responsible for its implementation. Registration or naturalisation for citizenship returned to its usual procedures; however, there remained some confusion over the relationship between the National Citizenship and Immigration Board created by the constitution (Article 19) and the board of NIRA established under the 2015 legislation (Section 9).105 In South Sudan, early reports indicate significant problems in the administration of the national identity card for members of cross-border ethnic groups, and for those unable to provide acceptable witnesses to their identity. The Regulations require that a person must satisfy the authorities of the facts related to their application, including a general requirement to provide witnesses “believed to be elders and next of kin” and additional witnesses in absence of documentary evidence.106 Some of those administering the provisions have interpreted the general provision to be a requirement that the witness be older than the applicant. In practice, acceptable next of kin witnesses are only male relatives, including father, uncle, brother, a male cousin; or in the absence of these, a chief.107 103 Brief to Parliament on the On-Going Mass Registration of Citizens Exercise under the National Security Information System (NSIS) Project, by The Hon. Minister of Internal Affairs, 29th July 2014. 104 Interviews, NIRA, Directorate of Citizenship, 10 August 2016; input at Arusha workshop 20 March 2017; Sam Waswa, “Foreigners to Apply for Ugandan Citizenship”, ChimpReports, 18 January 2015; “Government Starts Naturalizing Foreign Nationals”, Uganda Radio Network, 19 January 2015. 105 In September 2018, as this report was finalised, the Ugandan government announced the dissolution of a number of agencies, including NIRA, and the return of their functions to the relevant ministries. “Dozens of Uganda parastatals targeted in reforms”, The East African, 11 September 2018. 106 In addition, where documentary evidence is not available, witnesses of facts could include “Community leaders, Traditional authorities, Church and/or religious leaders, County, Payam, and/or Boma officials, Chiefs and/or sub-chiefs from the applicant’s local indigenous group; Relations of the applicant, or Any other persons of good standing who has own first-hand knowledge of the identity of the applicant.” Nationality Regulations 2011, paragraphs 25-26. 107 Input at Arusha workshop, 20 March 2017. UNHCR / September 2018 31