List of Tables
Table 1: Right to nationality by descent ............................................................................................... 15
Table 2: Right to a nationality based on birth in the country ............................................................... 20
Table 3: Right to pass nationality to a spouse ...................................................................................... 22
Table 4: Right to acquire citizenship as an adult by naturalisation ...................................................... 24
Table 5: Rules on dual nationality ......................................................................................................... 28
Table 6: Criteria for loss of nationality.................................................................................................. 29
Table 7: Birth registration rates in West Africa (percentage of children under five) ........................... 32
List of Boxes
Box 1: The story of Mme Diallo ............................................................................................................. 19
Box 2: Gaps in the law contributing to statelessness ........................................................................... 31
Box 3: Weaknesses in nationality administration ................................................................................. 43
Box 4: A taxonomy of statelessness...................................................................................................... 44
Box 5: Côte d’Ivoire ............................................................................................................................... 47
Box 6: “Returnees” from the crisis in the Central Africa Republic........................................................ 56
Box 7: Maria Gaye: A Liberian former refugee in Guinea ..................................................................... 63
Box 8: Lamin Koroma: A Sierra Leonean former refugee in Guinea ..................................................... 65
Box 9: Ziguinchor, Senegal: Two children in difficulty .......................................................................... 77
Box 10: A stateless victim of internal trafficking in Côte d’Ivoire ......................................................... 80
The fifteen ECOWAS Member States
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