STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY Identification of populations at risk of statelessness, and prevention and reduction of statelessness EAC Partner States should seek to identify and provide solutions for those persons who are stateless or at risk of statelessness, and in particular they should:     Conduct research into populations at risk of statelessness, in order to identify those groups or individuals who require confirmation of their right to nationality of the country they live in, or interim protection as stateless persons prior to facilitated acquisition of nationality. Conduct specific awareness raising activities among populations at risk of statelessness to encourage individuals to acquire those documents that would confirm their nationality, including birth certificates, and to apply for confirmation of nationality through the procedures available, whether of the country of residence or another relevant country. In case of forced population movements caused by conflict or other crises, ensure documentation of those who have been forced to move at the earliest moment, and take particular measures to provide access to birth registration for their children, in line with the 1951 Refugee Convention (Article 25). Where individuals cannot be confirmed to have a nationality under existing laws, provide them with a temporary protective status in accordance with the procedures required by the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and facilitate their acquisition of nationality. An integrated approach to nationality systems  EAC Partner States should address nationality and statelessness from a systemic perspective, seeking to put in place coherent initiatives on documentation and identity management that provide access to a nationality for all both in theory and in practice, and that identify and provide documentation to all. Accessions to and implementation of UN and AU treaties    EAC Partner States should take steps to fulfil the commitment they adopted, as ICGLR Member States in the Brazzaville Declaration and Action Plan, to accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and to review national law and practice to ensure it is compliant with their requirements, based on UNHCR’s Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons and guidelines on prevention of childhood statelessness. Uganda acceded to the 1954 Convention in 1965; Rwanda to both conventions in 2006; and Burundi’s National Assembly unanimously approved accession to both conventions in September 2018, as this report went to print. No action had been taken by other EAC Partner States. All EAC Partner States except South Sudan are already party to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, of which Article 6 deals with birth registration and the right to a name and nationality. They should review their laws and procedures in line with the General Comment on Article 6 of the Charter adopted by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 2014. Burundi and South Sudan should consider acceding to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. South Sudan should additionally consider acceding to the ACRWC. Recommendations to individual countries In addition to the recommendations applying to all EAC countries listed below, the following apply to individual states. UNHCR / September 2018 89