c. inclusion of questions pertaining to documentation and nationality in existing
data collection methods, including health indicator studies, household surveys,
and the national census;
d. Commissioning targeted studies to profile those groups most at risk of
statelessness and to identify the causes of statelessness.
On protecting stateless persons and establishing procedures for nationality determination
In relation to commitments 139, 1610, and 1811, on the protection of stateless persons and the
establishment of procedures for the confirmation or acquisition of nationality, participants
recommend that:
14. The ECOWAS Commission and ECOWAS Member States establish effective means
of inter-State coordination to determine the nationality of those whose nationality is
undetermined, particularly of populations living in border zones and nomadic
populations;
15. States establish nationality determination procedures at the national level for
concerned individuals, in order to determine their nationality, to allow them to acquire
one or, in the last resort, to grant them the status of stateless person;
16. ECOWAS to adopt a directive for the harmonisation of national laws pertaining to
nationality;
17. Civil society to strengthen its advocacy on the eradication of statelessness, in
coordination with groups working on human rights and existing networks.
On the accession to and implementation of international conventions
With regards to the implementation of commitments 2 12, 313 and 414, participants recommend
that:
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We undertake to take appropriate measures to ensure that affected populations can confirm or acquire a
nationality in cases of States succession
10
We undertake to implement appropriate measures in order to enable stateless persons to obtain a legal status in
accordance with the 1954 Convention and international human rights standards, thereby allowing them to live in
dignity
11
Where stateless populations have been identified, we undertake to implement any required law and policy
reforms to grant nationality to stateless persons on the basis of criteria such as birth in the territory and long-term
residence
12
We undertake to prevent and reduce statelessness by reforming constitutional, legislative and institutional
regimes related to nationality in order to include appropriate safeguards against statelessness, in particular to
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