STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY of another country, or “being of foreign origin” the person “is not assimilated with Burundian citizens”.169 Amendments made to the nationality code in 2000 left the basic framework in place, providing a descentbased system primarily through a father who is Burundian (“ayant la qualité de Burundais”), and discriminating also on the basis of birth in or out of wedlock.170 It repealed the provision providing access based on birth and residence for fifteen years. A draft law to remove gender discrimination in the law has been prepared for discussion by the Council of Ministers but is not yet before the National Assembly.171 The nationality law is not explicitly based on ethnicity, but nonetheless can be interpreted with an ethnic inflection, thanks to the absence of clear criteria for attribution of nationality on attaining independence from Belgium. This possibility is perhaps reinforced by the current constitutional framework, using quotas for representation in the National Assembly and other branches of government to manage the tensions between the two ethnic groups making up the majority of the population.172 People of Omani descent and other Muslims Some 1,200 people of Omani descent live in Burundi, and many are not recognised as nationals by either Burundi or Oman. Their ancestors came to Burundi via Zanzibar in the 19th and early 20th centuries, first when Oman carried out slave-raiding in the interior of Africa, and later as traders under the German and Belgian administrations. Although theoretically many would still be eligible for Omani nationality, if they could prove their descent through the male line (since there is no restriction on transmission of nationality outside of Oman), renewal of documents requires traveling to Oman. As a consequence, only a few have Omani passports. Some of this group have lived in Burundi on the basis of temporary permits; others have had no papers and have been subject to harassment and arrest. Parents who do not have identity papers unable to register the births of their children in Burundi, increasing the risk of statelessness.173 Following an effort to identify people with irregular immigration status in Burundi from 2010, investigations by the Office National pour la Protection des Réfugiés et des Apatrides (ONPRA) in 2012 and 2016 found 974 individuals of Omani origin present in Burundi (among whom some had access to another nationality, but many did not). This group has been offered naturalisation as Burundian (though no formal statement of this offer exists in writing), but they have rather sought to obtain recognition of Omani nationality, which has not been forthcoming. In the meantime, they have been offered renewable three-year residence permits to regularise their immigration status.174 There is in addition a group of Muslim Swahili-speakers in Burundi, also descendants of traders and other migrants from the 19th and 20th centuries. Although centrally involved in the struggle for decolonisation, they 169 Décret-loi no 1/93 du 10 août 1971 portant Code de la Nationalité, Article 3: "Est Murundi par présomption légale […] (c) toute personne née au Burundi et y domiciliée pendant quinze ans au moins, sauf s’il est établi qu’elle a la qualité de ressortissant d’un Etat étranger ou que, étant d’origine étrangère, elle n’est pas assimilée aux citoyens barundi". 170 It is not clear what, if any, was the significance of the change from the father’s status as “Murundi” to “Burundais”: research would need to be done into the government’s proposals and debates in the National Assembly during the adoption of the legislation. 171 Bureau du point focal national sur l’apatridie, "Note sur les contributions du Burundi par rapport au projet d’étude sur l’apatridie et la citoyenneté dans les six pays de la Communauté des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Est", 9 June 2018. 172 Constitution of the Republic of Burundi, 2005, especially Articles 129, 143, 164 and 180. See also, Pacifique Manirakiza, “The 2005 Constitution of Burundi” (Pretoria: Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa), n.d., available at: http://www.icla.up.ac.za/images/country_reports/burundi_country_report.pdf. 173 "Risque d’apatridie pour le peuple omanais vivant au Burundi", Commission Nationale Indépendante des Droits de l'Homme, 31 July 2012 ; “Will Oman welcome home its stateless people in Burundi?” Agence France Presse, 4 December 2012; Rapport annuel sur la situation des droits de l’Homme au Burundi, Edition 2013, Ligue Iteka (Burundi); "Burundi: des descendants d’Omanais veulent être reconnus par leur pays", RFI, 27 August 2013; “Statelessness in Burundi”, IWACU (Burundi), 31 August 2014, available at: http://www.iwacu-burundi.org/englishnews/statelessness-in-burundi/; "Apatrides malgré eux", IWACU (Burundi), 26 December 2014. 174 Opération de vérification de la population omanaise à risque d’apatridie résidente au Burundi : Rapport, Office National de Protection des Réfugiés et Apatrides and UNHCR, 23 October 2016. 46 UNHCR / September 2018