A Study of Statelessness in South Sudan - 2017 statelessness and stateless persons; v. Provide recommendations on institutional support to government authorities involved in nationality documentation application and issuance procedures in order to ensure durable solutions for persons at risk of statelessness. 1.3 Methodology 1.3.1 Desk Review Forcier Consulting conducted a preliminary desk review, in collaboration with the South Sudan Law Society (SSLS). Drawing upon available literature on nationality and statelessness in South Sudan, as well as legal sources comprising both international law and South Sudanese legislation, the desk review provided an in-depth legislative analysis of South Sudan’s nationality legislation (Nationality Act and Regulations) and its interpretation and application in South Sudan. The desk review informed data collection tools, and its results are merged with the findings from primary data collection in this final report. 1.3.2 Qualitative Research In addition to the desk review, a qualitative data collection exercise provides current data on statelessness, and contextualises this data by collecting human stories from those directly affected by the legal framework. The desk review revealed a number of locations with communities at risk of statelessness. Forcier Consulting selected the towns of Aweil, Renk, and Nimule for primary qualitative data collection, as field-work locations suggested in the terms of reference were inaccessible for security reasons. For the qualitative data collection portion of the study, Forcier Consulting conducted a total of 26 qualitative interviews, including both Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), across all field locations. A further five KIIs were conducted 12 in Juba to complement research findings. The data collection tools are included in Annex 1. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted with community members who are applying for nationality documentation, or who are at risk of statelessness. FGDs allow for nuanced and open-ended responses to difficult questions, thereby providing information on attitudes, perceptions, and experiences, and facilitating in-depth analysis and exploration of respondents’ views and experiences. FGDs are disaggregated based on gender to ensure honest participation and genuine discussion of personal experiences. These discussions provide insight regarding problems faced within and outside of ethnic groups, based on location, gender, age, and other factors. Researchers also discussed with respondents the effect of the process on children. In order to recruit FGD participants, Forcier researchers identified the local chiefs of the targeted communities in each field location upon arrival, after being introduced to the local authorities. Local chiefs provided the researchers with introductions to members of the targeted sub-units of the community, who in turn referred the researchers to potential FGD participants. Information about these potential participants was compiled by the researchers, including age, gender, education level, ethnic group, phone number, and whether they have applied or want to apply for a nationality certificate. This information was then sent to the Research Officer, who selected optimal participants, ensuring equal representation of gender and age in all three field sites. Selected individuals were contacted by the researchers via phone to facilitate participation in FGDs. Reflecting potential limitations with this approach, some phone numbers were found to be unreachable and other selected participants