A Study of Statelessness in South Sudan - 2017 peoples”.31 In South Sudan, it is expected that “any verification and approval officer should know as common knowledge the indigenous tribes in South Sudan”.32 In practice, the categorisation of certain ethnic communities such as trans-boundary and pastoralist communities as indigenous or non-indigenous is thus at the discretion of the officer, which opens a space for diverse interpretations of this legal requirement. In Aweil, for example, a DNPI staff member argues that, “the indigenous community are sixty-four tribes of South Sudan and that does not include pastoralists, transboundary communities and immigrants”.33 Meanwhile, in Renk, indigenous communities are understood as “those who have been in South Sudan since the 1950s and 1960s”, with the exception of trans-boundary communities and pastoralists.34 South Sudan by DNPI staff are denied access to Nationality Certificates. A DNPI staff member in Juba explains that, “Ambororo or Falata, in general, are not ever allowed to submit their application for [nationality certificates] because they are not South Sudanese”.38 Such instances of discrimination are further discussed later in the report, but it is likely that the ambiguity surrounding the term “indigenous” in the legislation contributes to perpetuating statelessness in South Sudan, in particular since membership of an indigenous group is often perceived as a pre-requisite for South Sudanese nationality instead as an alternative option to acquire nationality as specified by the use of the word ‘or’ between sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(b) of the legislation. The Regulations outline what documentation is required for the fulfilment of Section (8)(1)(b) of the Act. Under Section 43 of the Regulations, the applicant is required to provide the issuing authority with the name of the indigenous community and the names of the payam, boma, chief, and sub-chief of the local unit to which the applicant belongs.35 Section 43(c) of the Regulations further stipulates that an applicant from a trans-boundary community must confirm that he or she belongs to the South Sudanese segment of the indigenous community. Thus, certain groups experience greater difficulty in acquiring nationality. For example, a DNPI staff member for Eastern Equatoria reports that, “The communities who are on the border, like Madi, Acholi, Toposa, Lango, Azande, Kakwa, Nuer on the Ethiopia border […] face a lot of challenges when they are applying for nationality. It takes time to investigate them”.36 No law or procedure exists to provide DNPI with prerogative powers to determine if a tribe is indigenous to South Sudan.37 However, groups that are not considered indigenous to Section 8(2) of the Nationality Act stipulates that a person must be considered for citizenship if, at the time the Nationality Act came into effect, the person had been domiciled in South Sudan since 1956, or his/her parents or grandparents had been domiciled in South Sudan since 1956. The word “domicile” is defined in Section 5 of the Act as “a place where a person ordinarily resides and or to which that person returns as a place of permanent abode, and does not mean a place where such a person resides for a special or temporary purpose”. Based on this definition, there is scope for displaced persons to refer to their homes prior to displacement as their place of ordinary residence, and hence domicile. However, under Section 44 of the Regulations, the applicant must prove his or her residency at any address in South Sudan since 1956 and confirm that it has remained uninterrupted since 1956. Section 44 of the Regulations is thus adding supplementary conditions to Section 8(2) of the Act which may contradict the definition of domicile, highlighting a conflict of law between the Act and Regulations. Nationality by Birth: Residency N Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2006), Fifth Session, “Factsheet: Who are Indigenous Peoples?” available at: http://www.un.org/esa/ socdev/unpfii/documents/5session_factsheet1.pdf. 32 Conversation with a Director of the DNPI, Juba. 33 KII with DNPI Staff in Aweil. 34 KII with State Director of DNPI in Renk. 35 Payam and boma are South Sudanese administrative units. Payam is the official administrative unit below the county, and the boma is the smallest administrative unit, below the payam. A boma is typically a collection of villages. 36 KII with DNPI Staff for Eastern Equatoria. 37 Conversation with a Director of the DNPI, Juba. 38 KII with State Director of DNPI in Renk. 31 17