In Sri Lanka, the descendants of
southern Indians brought to work
on coffee and tea plantations in
the 19th Century were left stateless
for decades after independence
from Britain. In 2003, the Sri Lankan
parliament adopted a law to grant
citizenship to this population,
known as the Hill Tamils, and
conducted a massive campaign to
end their statelessness.
In a region of historical
labour migration from colonial
times, the citizenship status
of a significant portion of the
population of Côte d’Ivoire
has been subject to political
dispute and has contributed
to tensions, conflict and largescale displacement.
P UBLISHED
BY :
UNHCR
Division of
International Protection
P.O. Box 2500
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
www.unhcr.org
UNHCR / DIP / Q&A•A4 / ENG 1
SEPTEMBER 2011