Report on Citizenship Law: Ethiopia 8. Groups at risk of statelessness In Ethiopia, accessing a kebele ID is key to many services. However, this is not under the direct control of the federal government. Among other things, this can enhance the risk of statelessness, especially when a certain group is marginalised. The law is clear in that there is no different legal effect between being an Ethiopian by descent and by naturalisation. The descendants of an Ethiopian are legally presumed to be Ethiopians if they have not obtained foreign nationality. However, there are groups of Rastafarians and people of Greek, Armenian and Lebanese origin who face difficulties in getting Kebele IDs and have risked being deprived of their lands by local authorities.67 This is due to a lack of awareness of the citizenship law and relevant legal norms. Particularly Rastafarians in Shasmene have expressed discontent on these matters. The lack of an ID has inhibited them from accessing social services and their mobility is highly limited.68 The lack of an administrative procedural law in the country has opened the flood gates to cases on the rights of these minority groups and citizens at large. In one instance, a Rastafarian, pleaded the federal Parliament for a remedy to the obstacles set by local governments.69 If a kebele administrator refuses to issue an ID to a person who is born to Ethiopian parents but has no means to prove if s/he is Ethiopian or not, it is evident that the lack of a kebele ID can limit the person’s mobility in the country or lead to the risk of traveling with no document stating his/her identity, especially in times when each region prefers to first benefit the dwellers of the region.70 Another problematic scenario is that if a person from a bordering Ethiopian town comes to Addis Ababa with a kebele ID that states s/he is a national of Ethiopia and asks the Immigration Authority for a passport the passport officer raises the question of whether the person is really Ethiopian. There have been many complaints in this regard. These acts are ultra vires and compromise the rights of citizens. The unprecedented number of internally displaced persons (IDPs)71 in Ethiopia is also a case in point showing how citizenship rights have been challenged and those affected have had their citizenship doubted. They have been ill treated by host communities as if they were refugees from neighbouring countries.72 67 For instance, they only began getting legal recognition of their status with an ID in 2017. These are based on observations by the researcher at different times. 69 Even though there have been very recent actions by the government to issue residence permits and IDs and identify them as foreigners of Ethiopian origin. See DW, why Ethiopia’s Rastafarian Community Keeps Dwindling at https://www.dw.com/en/why-ethiopias-rastafari-community-keeps-dwindling/a-50339635, last accessed on 16 March 2020. Rastafarians are highly uncertain about their land and attached properties as locals are illegally compromising their land. Irritated by the lack of active response from the local governments in Shashemne, representatives of the Rastafarian community have tried their best to reach the federal government representatives, including the Parliament, to seek apt remedies. 70 As ethnicity is one of the elements in the ID description, the de facto rule is that accessing some benefits is reserved for locals. 71 There are 1,642,458 IDPs in Ethiopia. Source: IOM Ethiopia publishes the first ever National Displacement report, date of publication 25/10/2019, at https://www.iom.int/news/iom-ethiopia-publishes-first-ever-nationaldisplacement-report, last accessed on 20 December 2019. 72 These complaints have been heard multiple times by media outlets, with IDPs stressing the lack of immediate support from the government. 68 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/9 - © 2020 Author(s) 23