strengthen the presumption that the nationality “of origin” should be recognised on the basis of the testimony of the person concerned.309 The applicant is left with nothing. 6.7. Nationality is politically sensitive Statelessness is a difficult problem to solve, not just for technical and practical reasons of legal drafting and state capacity, but because access to nationality goes to the heart of political and economic power. Recognition as a national is tied up with access to property, especially land, and with economic power more generally, as well as the right to vote and participate in public affairs. In the phase immediately after independence, denial of access to nationality was a way of clipping the wings of those whose economic and political power had been unfairly increased by the colonial regime. Vestiges of that concern remain, especially in the widespread resentment of “Lebanese” and other trading networks in West Africa. Affirmative action measures are permitted in international law to respond to historical injustice and contemporary disadvantage310; but these measures should be designed to address existing discrimination — rather than denying a person’s right to be a member of society at all. Moreover, denial of (proof of) nationality is just as much likely to affect those who are the most marginalised in society – including many of the groups identified in this report. Or, simply to affect those who are believed to be supporters of an opposition political party. It is not a coincidence that access to nationality and identity documentation has been central to several recent West African political agreements, including not only the series of agreements between the Ivorian political opponents311, but also the less well-known August 2006 Togolese Global Political Accord (also signed in Ouagadougou) which envisaged the issue of identity cards along with electoral cards.312 While tactics of denial of nationality may have short term appeal, the misuse of nationality law for these purposes not only creates stateless persons; but also favours the breakdown of political systems within a state and, ultimately, fuels rebellions. 6.8. “Technical fixes” may not address the core problems There are ongoing initiatives to improve aspects of nationality administration in most countries of the region, supported by a variety of international actors. These include efforts to increase levels of birth registration, to strengthen border controls, to improve electoral registration procedures, to introduce or upgrade national identity cards, and to computerise all these systems. There are efforts to introduce new biometric identity data to the various identity documents. More generally, the current security context in West Africa has created a focus on the need for stronger identification systems. In addition, a number of West African states have recently acceded to the two UN conventions on statelessness (see annex 8.3). While computerisation would certainly help to improve the administration of identity documentation, it is not a panacea to all the ills of the system; especially if not accompanied by training on the computer systems and on correct record-keeping. The introduction of biometric data is also a 309 Interview, Conakry, June 2014. Human Rights Committee, General Comment 18, Non-discrimination, 1989. 311 For example, Chapter I of the March 2007 Ouagadougou Political Agreement for Côte d’Ivoire was headed “General identification of the population”; Chapter II was on the electoral roll. Reproduced in UN Security Council document S/2007/144, 13 March 2007. 312 Clause 1.2.5 Accord Politique Global, Ouagadougou, 20 August 2006. 310 95