1.2.2. The African Legal Framework The ACHPR does not explicitly mention the right to a nationality. However, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) has confirmed that Article 5 - which guarantees the right to dignity and recognition of legal status - includes protection against arbitrary denial or deprivation of nationality. This interpretation Resolution 234 was (LIII) formally 2013 on affirmed the Right in to Modise v Botswana Comm. No. 97/93, ACmHPR, 6 November 2000: the African Commission found that the arbitrary deprivation of Modise’s Botswana citizenship and his consequent confinement in the no man’s land between South Africa and Botswana constituted a violation of Article 5, causing “personal suffering and indignity”. Nationality and has been reinforced through the African Commission’s jurisprudence. Amnesty International v Zambia Comm. No. 212/98, ACmHPR, 5 May 1999: the African Commission ruled that Zambia breached the right to dignity under Article 5 in a case involving two politicians who were arbitrarily declared noncitizens, deported to Malawi, and forced “to live as stateless persons under degrading conditions.” Several other rights in the ACHPR support the protection of stateless persons and the right to a nationality : Article 2: the prohibition of non-discrimination Article 3: the right to equality before the law Article 6: the right to liberty and the prohibition of arbitrary arrest or detention Article 7: the right to fair trial and due process Article 12: the right to freedom of movement, the right to leave and return to one’s own country, and the prohibition of arbitrary expulsion (including mass expulsion) Article 18: the protection of the family (particularly, women, children, persons with disabilities, and older persons) The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Court) has further strengthened the normative framework around nationality and statelessness. Anudo Ochieng Anudo v United Republic of Tanzania App. No. 012/2015, AfCHPR, Judgment of 22 March 2018: the Court ruled that Tanzania violated the ACHPR when it arbitrarily revoked Mr. Anudo’s nationality, expelled him, and refused to readmit him— actions that rendered him stateless. The judgment established key principles: States must follow due process in nationality matters. The burden of proof cannot rest solely on the individual when nationality is disputed. Arbitrary deprivation of nationality violates human dignity. States must avoid actions that create or perpetuate statelessness 16