JOINT PRESS RELEASE
West Africa on path to become the first region in the world to adopt a Plan of Action to end
statelessness
Banjul, 9 May 2017 – Ministers of Interior and Justice of the Member States of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) in charge of nationality issues adopted today an ambitious regional
Plan of Action to end statelessness in West Africa. Gathered at a joint ECOWAS/UNHCR Conference
hosted by the Government of the Republic of the Gambia, the Ministers agreed on concrete measures
and a specific timeframe that aim at resolving the obstacles to the acquisition of nationality so as to end
statelessness by 2024.
“One million people are statelessness in West Africa,” says Volker Türk, Assistant High Commissioner
for Refugees. “Denying someone their right to a nationality creates suffering, exclusion and
marginalization,” he says, adding “today, we estimate that at least 30 per cent of the people in the region
lack documentation which proves their identity or their claim to a nationality”.
“The regional Plan of Action represents a major step forward in the fight against statelessness,” says M.
Türk. “West Africa initiated this fight two years ago, and is now putting in place a more robust legal
framework that includes practical measures adapted to the region’s reality. Through these bold efforts,
West Africa is positioning itself as the world leader in the fight to end statelessness,” he says.
“Secretary-General of the UN considers the eradication of statelessness as a priority of his efforts at
conflict prevention, resilience, development and the promotion of human and peoples’ rights. This meeting
represents a crucial landmark in the progress being made by ECOWAS, the UN in general and UNHCR
in particular towards the implementation of the February 2015 Abidjan Declaration of Ministers of
ECOWAS Member States on the Eradication of Statelessness,” says Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special
Representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel.
The fifteen ECOWAS Member States adopted the landmark Abidjan Declaration in February 2015,
recognizing statelessness as a scourge in the region and committing to end this phenomenon by 2024.
The Plan of Action adopted today operationalizes the Declaration and is underpinned by three pillars:
identifying stateless people and the risks of statelessness; preventing and reducing statelessness; and
raising awareness among the general public.
The Plan of Action lays out concrete measures aimed at addressing the causes of statelessness by
rectifying gaps in nationality laws and issues relating to proof of nationality. “In the region, some nationality
laws still contain discriminatory elements based on gender, ethnicity or race,” says Liz Ahua, UNHCR
Regional Representative for West Africa. “These are the very obstacles faced by up to 60 million people
in the region who are without documents proving their identity or nationality,” she says. The Plan of Action
also foresees that nationality laws be brought in accordance with international standards on nationality
and the prevention of statelessness. ECOWAS Member States will implement the mechanisms to ensure
that all persons who are eligible are able to obtain identity papers and proof of nationality.
“Statelessness has a devastating impact on the life of individuals, as having a nationality is essential to
the full participation in society and a precondition to enjoy fundamental human rights,” says Dr. Fatimata
Dia Sow, Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender of the ECOWAS Commission. “I can assure you
of ECOWAS determination to solve this problem,” she adds. “It is important to bring statelessness under
the spotlights, as we do here: although an invisible phenomena, its consequences are often very real,
including the denying of fundamental rights such as education, health or right to work,” she says.
The technical experts of ECOWAS Member States met on 7 and 8 May 2017 to formulate and validate
the Plan of Action before its validation by ECOWAS Ministers. This document will be presented for