This revived the simpler and non-discretionary declaration procedure rather than following the cumbersome, non-transparent naturalization procedure foreseen by Linas-Marcoussis. All individuals who acquire nationality through this declaration procedure will be entitled to enjoy full rights as Ivorian citizens pursuant to Article 42 of the Nationality Code.76 By January 2016, 123,810 people had applied to acquire nationality by declaration, with 11,762 administrative nationality certificates issued by 30 November 2016, and the remaining files pending review or delivery of their nationality certificate. These figures demonstrate that this program has clearly been more successful than the Linas-Marcoussis naturalization program. Yet in light of the high number of foreigners in Côte d’Ivoire born in the country, many from historical migrants, the number of those who applied for nationality by declaration from 2014 to 2016 is still likely only a fraction of those who should be eligible under the program. The links between the Linas-Marcoussis special naturalization program of 2004-2007 and the temporary acquisition of nationality by declaration program pursuant to Law 2013-653 are clear. Both sought to accord Ivorian nationality to those present in Côte d’Ivoire since independence who had failed to apply to formally acquire Ivorian nationality according to the options available between December 1961 and January 1973. There have been several pitfalls, however, in both programs. For one, there has been some confusion among the Ivorian legislators as to who the intended beneficiaries of Article 17 of the 1961 Nationality Code include. Further confusion has persisted with respect to the rights of legal descendants of the original beneficiaries of these programs to acquire subsidiary Ivorian nationality through these programs. These issues, as well as other commentary on these two special programs, are explored further in Section 3.2.3 and in Annex II. In sum, this special program for acquisition of Ivorian nationality by declaration has been an important measure to correct the historical anomaly of the failure to grant nationality to all eligible residents and their descendants at the time of independence and beyond, but it has been limited in its impact due to legislative and procedural ambiguities as well as low public awareness of the program. In light of the limited number of applications to acquire Ivorian nationality by declaration pursuant to Law No. 2013-653, Côte d’Ivoire should extend this procedure again in the future without any time-bound limit as discussed further in Section 3.2.3. Furthermore, Section 5.1.2 below provides additional observations on the practical realities of the circumstances of those who are stateless or at risk of statelessness among historical migrants and their descendants, and will expand further on the challenges these individuals will face in meeting the procedural and documentary requirements in order to benefit from the special program to acquire nationality by declaration. 3.2. Côte d’Ivoire’s contemporary nationality laws and their implementation in practice Against the backdrop of the evolution of Côte d’Ivoire’s nationality laws, this section turns to a more in-depth analysis of the nationality laws and measures that are currently in force, although it is intended as a preliminary, rather than exhaustive, discussion on the issues. In doing so, it provides observations not only on the letter of the law, but also on how these provisions are applied in practice. The goal of isolating this analysis from the history of policy changes is to provide an objective reading of the strengths and weaknesses of the Nationality Code and related laws, which will help identify legal gaps that contribute to the creation of statelessness in Côte d’Ivoire and will inform recommendations for further nationality reforms. The organization of this section reflects the organization of the Nationality Code, as amended and supplemented by relevant laws. Any 76 In other words, persons who acquire nationality through declaration are not subject to the restrictions placed on naturalized persons through Article 43 of the Nationality Code, including the five-year ban on voting or exercising a public service function or liberal profession and the ten-year bar on running for elective office. 20