AHMR African Human Mobilty Review - Volume 8 No 3, SEP-DEC 2022 statelessness is in the region.23 Though global, continental, regional, and national appeals and measures have been put in place to promote the right to nationality and to end statelessness, it remains a persistent issue, especially in Africa and in the Southern African region. At the end of 2015, the UNHCR reported that more than 1,021,418 persons were stateless in Africa due to armed conflicts and cross-border migration.24 Although the UNHCR indicators refer to persons who fall under its statelessness mandate as those who are stateless according to this international definition, some countries include people with undetermined nationality and undocumented children in the statelessness definition.25 The total number is therefore likely significantly higher. We acknowledge in this article that there have been initiatives to end statelessness in Africa. Through the #IBelong Campaign and the Abidjan Declaration on Eradication of Statelessness,26 the Heads of State of the ECOWAS have also shown that there is a political will to eradicate statelessness. Undeniably, there is an indication of a commitment to end statelessness and promote the right to nationality in Africa. The African Union (AU), for example, adopted a Draft Protocol on the right to a nationality in the African continent. The seven-point plan of action that resulted from the meeting of parliamentarians held on 26 and 27 November 2015 in Cape Town, focused on the role of parliaments in preventing and ending statelessness.27 This underscores the importance of regional and international cooperation. Yet, statelessness in Africa remains critical because a large number of stateless persons are not documented.28 The number of stateless persons tends to overlap with undocumented persons whose nationality statuses are unclear.29 Given the gravity and uncertainties that can be associated with statelessness, the protection and promotion of the right to nationality in Africa, and in the Southern African region, in particular, statelessness-related issues and protection of stateless persons, cannot be ignored. The 1954 Convention ensures minimum standards of treatment of stateless persons in respect of several economic, social, and cultural rights. These include the right to education, employment, housing, social security, healthcare services and other rights.30 Importantly, the Convention also guarantees stateless persons a right to identity and travel documents and to administrative assistance. Furthermore, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness establishes an international framework to ensure the right to nationality of every person is protected by adopting UNHCR ‘Global trends: Forced displacement in 2015’ 2015 available at http://www.worldsstateless.org/continents/ africa/stateless-persons-in-africa, accessed on 25 February 2022. 26 ‘Ibid. 27 It was adopted in February 2015 by the ECOWAS to support the UNHCR’s global campaign to end statelessness by 2024. 28 ‘The Conference on Ensuring Everyone’s Right to Nationality: The Role of Parliaments in Preventing and Ending Statelessness, 26–27 November 2015’ available at http://archive.ipu.org/splz-e/captown15.htm, accessed on 26 March 2022. 29 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion ‘Stateless persons in Africa’ available at http://www.worldsstateless.org/continents/africa/stateless-persons-in-africa, accessed on 31 January 2022. 30 Ibid. 24 98