CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY 2020 Groups at risk of statelessness The groups at risk of statelessness in the SADC region are similar to those in the rest of the African continent. They fall into five main groups: orphans, abandoned infants, and other vulnerable children, including those trafficked for various purposes; people of mixed parentage; border populations, including nomadic and pastoralist ethnic groups who regularly cross borders, as well as those affected by border disputes or transfers of territory; migrants—historical or contemporary—without documentation of another nationality, and especially their descendants; and refugees and former refugees, as well as some people internally displaced within borders, and those deported or returned to a country “of origin” where they have few current links. The impact of statelessness The impact of lack of recognition as a national can be severe. Statelessness and discrimination in access to citizenship and identity documents has a strong negative impact on the ability of individuals and groups to enjoy respect for their other human rights, and to participate fully in the economic, social and political life of a country. The most serious risk is arbitrary detention and expulsion, which can impact not only people who are foreigners under the law (although very long-term residents), but also people who may in fact be nationals or entitled to acquire nationality. Where there is a requirement to hold a national identity card, whether newly instituted or over many decades, lack of an identity card can lead to complete exclusion from many other rights. These include: the right to vote or stand for public office; the right to freedom of movement; the right to education, health care, and social protection; and the right to hold or inherit property, or to participate in the formal economy through employment or access to financial services. Historically, it has been possible for peasant farmers or nomads in remote areas, or others who remain entirely in the informal sector, to avoid the need for documentation, even in countries where an ID card has been established. But requirements to have identity documents are becoming ever more pervasive. Even a person from the most remote community will interact with the modern state at some point, and therefore will require a document showing who the person is and, in most cases, to which state or states he or she belongs. The rules governing automatic attribution or voluntary acquisition of nationality, and the issue of identity documents recognising nationality, are thus ever more critical. 2 UNHCR / December, 2020