A Study of Statelessness in South Sudan - 2017 Without the protection of nationality or nationality documentation, stateless and at-risk of statelessness persons are at risk of arrest or abuse. Statelessness also prevents individuals from accessing basic rights and services, exposing them to political, economic and social deprivation. In order to prevent statelessness, and combat its negative impacts, a number of recommendations have been identified. Recommendations to the Government of South Sudan: · · · · Accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in line with Commitment No. 2 of the Declaration on Eradication of Statelessness adopted on 16 October 2017 in the context of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of ICGLR Member State at Brazzaville, signed by all Member States including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of South Sudan; Through legislative amendments, include a specific provision on prevention of statelessness in national legislation, and review the nationality legislation to ensure full compliance with the 1961 Convention; Reformulate the foundling provision of Section (8)(4) to guarantee the right to nationality of any child born in the territory of South Sudan prior to and after its independence, who would otherwise be stateless, as well as to foundlings whose parentage is unknown; Provide clarification on the term “indigenous” contained in the 2011 Nationality Act and Regulations, with reference to the non-exhaustive criteria · · · · with emphasis on self-identification set forth by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues155; Revitalise efforts to pass the Civil Registration Law156 to accelerate the introduction of formal procedures of birth registration in cooperation with UNICEF, UNHCR and other relevant stakeholders, and ensure the free issuance of birth notification and subsequent birth certificates to children born in the territory of South Sudan by the legally competent authorities; Clarify procedures of administrative appeals and judicial redress in nationality and civil status documentation application procedures, and ensure that rejected applicants are aware of, and have access to these processes of appeal; Ensure adequate funding and resources to DNPI in the state budget in order to enable DNPI structures to effectively implement nationality legislation and related procedures in the country; Constitute an independent supervisory body to facilitate the harmonisation of practices within the DNPI, and ensure the effective implementation of legislation including through the provision of adequate and sustainable yearly governmental budgets. Recommendations to the Directorate of Nationality, Passports, and Immigration: · As clearly stated in the Nationality Act, ensure that sub-section 8(1)(b) relating to indigenous groups is understood to be a separate clause for nationality provision, and not a necessary pre-condition for the acquisition of nationality by residency or descent; 155 UN 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. 156 On 8 January 2018, the Transitional National Legislative Assembly of South Sudan passed the Civil Registry Bill and on 16 January, it was sent to the Office of the President for assent. According to the South Sudan Transitional Constitution 2011 Article 85(1), if the President did not sent his comments within 30 days, the bill will be considered to be a Law as it was passed by the parliament. 40