Francis Dusabe All persons of Rwandan origin and their descendants are, upon request, entitled to Rwandan nationality. An organic law governs Rwandan nationality. The striking difference between the provision on Rwandan nationality in the Constitution of 2015 and other previous laws is that the new Constitution removed the rule that those eligible for recovery were categorised according to the time they left the country. Although the rationale behind this change remains unclear, there is no denying the fact that the move upheld the constitutional principle of equality of all Rwandans. 3. The Anatomy of Rwandan Nationality: the Current State of Affairs 3.1. The legal regime governing nationality in Rwanda The legal regime governing Rwandan nationality comprises the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda of 2003 as revised in 2015, the international legal instruments to which Rwanda is party, the organic law No. 30/2008 of 25 July 2008 relating to Rwandan nationality and Presidential Order No.21/01 of 27 May 2009 establishing requirements and the procedure for application and acquisition of Rwandan nationality. In addition, Law No. 32/2016 of 28 August 2016 governing persons and the family is also used as complementary legislation in the management of Rwandan nationality. Starting with the constitution, nationality is provided for as a fundamental right of every Rwandan,38 a foundation for the enjoyment of social, economic and political rights.39 The right to nationality gives Rwandans a right to their country and therefore safeguards them against any form of banishment.40 In addition, the constitution allows dual nationality to enable those who have acquired another foreign nationality to retain their Rwandan nationality. All the above features are further detailed in the organic law. This law also provides for types of Rwandan nationality, its modes of acquisition, the grounds for its withdrawal and how it may be recovered. The organic law is also complemented by the Presidential order. The Rwandan nationality legal regime also comprises a set of international and regional instruments to which Rwanda is a party. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICRMW).41 In 2006, Rwanda acceded to the two treaties on statelessness: the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (CSSP) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (CRS).42 38 See Article 25 para. 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda (Version 2015). See Gasamagera, W. (2007: 4). 40 There is a history of Rwandans being banished from their country on the assumption that the country was full and could not accommodate any further Rwandans. 41 Rwanda ratified the ICCPR on 16 April 1975, the CRC on 24 January 1991, the CEDAW on 2 March 1982 and the ICRMW on 15 December 2008. 42 Rwanda acceded to the CSSP and the CRS on 4 October 2006. 39 8 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/10- © 2020 Author(s)