CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA \Y Nationality law reform Somalia should remove provisions from the nationality law that discriminate in relation to the transmission of nationality to a spouse or child on the basis of sex or on the basis of birth in or out of wedlock.%83 Somalia should review provisions of its nationality law that create preferential access to citizenship on the basis of ethnicity, to ensure that they comply with international and African norms and standards, and in particular to avoid the risk of statelessness for those born in the country who are not members of the preferred group citizenship law presented to the Council of Ministers or groups. in 2016 As proposed (see above, in the draft under the heading Minorities in Somalia), citizenship could also be attributed to any person born in Somalia of one parent was also born in Somalia, or if he or she would otherwise be stateless. All countries should amend their nationality laws to ensure that every child has the right to a nationality, including through provisions that: o Provide equal rights for men and women to transmit nationality to their children, and ensure that procedures (for instance surrounding birth registration) respect this right in practice. Somalia in particular should remove discrimination based on sex from their nationality laws. © Incorporate the safeguards against statelessness that are contained in the international conventions on statelessness and the international and African human rights treaties, in particular for children born in the country who are otherwise stateless, or children found in the country whose parents are unknown. Ethiopia should reform or clarify the application of its law to ensure that not only “infants” but also older children may benefit from this protection. o Provide for additional protections against statelessness by widening access to nationality based on birth in the territory, in particular for a child born in the territory who has one parent also born there, and for a child born in the territory who remains there during childhood and until majority. o Provide for recognition or acquisition of nationality in case of children who are looked after by a family other than their birth family, whether there has been formal adoption or not. Provide for such recognition of nationality on such grounds to be accessible retroactively in case of those who are now adults. Provide that minor children may be included within the application of an adult for naturalisation, and acquire nationality at the same time as the parent. Review the conditions for naturalisation and provide limits to the discretion to grant or refuse naturalisation, in order to make naturalisation accessible to a far wider number of people, including refugees, former refugees, and persons who are stateless or of undetermined nationality. fulfil, and Conditions should should be clearly described and advertised, not discriminate against any particular ethnic, not be overly onerous to religious or racial group. Decisions that a person does not fulfil the conditions for naturalisation should be reasoned, and subject to challenge in court. Review laws to ensure access to nationality for nomadic and border populations, drawing on the provisions in the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on the Specific Aspects of the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa. 333 This report takes no position on the status of Somaliland in international law. However, Somaliland adopted its own nationality law and the recommendations made to Somalia also apply to the citizenship legislation and procedures in Somaliland. 78 UNHCR — December 2021