Report on Citizenship Law: The Gambia 4.4 Identification: Birth registration & introduction of new national biometric ID card The Gambia Immigration Act came into operation on the 31st January 1965 and established provisions for the control of immigration into and residence in The Gambia, and for connected matters such as issuing of National identity card and passports. In July 2014, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) approved the introduction of a new standard- format national biometric identity card in all ECOWAS states by 2017.46 These new national identity cards can be used by citizens of the different ECOWAS member states to travel within the West African States. The Gambia, in line with this commitment, started issuing these biometric ID cards in October 2018. The identity cards issued include the person’s biometric data, the person’s face, identification number, date of birth and gender, height, date of issue and expiry date, and signature. As July 2020, over two hundred and thirty-two thousand Biometric Identification Cards have been issued to Gambians: 141, 396 were issued to males and 327 to females.47 The Minister projected that by the end of 2020, about 200,000 ID cards would be produced. Most people without proper documentation of citizenship, or who challenges of acquiring proper documentation, are likely to be Gambian citizens under the law but do not have means of proofing their citizenship status under the current system. Strict procedures have been put in place to confirm citizenship in these cases. In some cases, individuals may not be Gambians under the law but have strong ties with another country like Senegal but are neither Senegalese citizens. This could apply for instance to some who have one or both of their parents as Senegalese citizens. In this case, efforts should be made to provide facilitated naturalisation, by relaxing the usual procedure. There have also been many complaints from members of the Fula ethnic groups on difficulties they face when they apply for identifications documents including passports. They complained of being “asked for ‘further proof’ of citizenship, other people were given free passes”.48 5. Conclusions This report has sought to provide an overview of the historical events that have shaped the constitutional provisions and legislative landscape relating to citizenship in The Gambia. As with many countries, citizenship in The Gambia has been mainly affected by the history of practices of colonialism and the type of citizenship regime that was in place during the colonial 46 Final Communique: Forty-Fifth Ordinary Session of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, Accra, Ghana, 10 July 2014. 47 “Gambia: Over 232,000 Gambians Issued Biometric ID Cards Since 2018”, Foroyaa Newspaper, 1 July 2020 available at https://allafrica.com/stories/202007020389.html. 48 “GID: Fulas deserved respect”, The Standard, July 17, 2018, available at https://standard.gm/gid-fulasdeserved-respect/. See also “On The Issue of ID Cards Facing Gambian Fulbe; We Are Not Asking for Preferential Treatment but Respect for Our Fundamental Rights as Citizens”, Fulani News Media, https://fulaninewsmedia.com/on-the-issue-of-id-cards-facing-gambian-fulbe-we-are-not-asking-for-preferentialtreatment-but-respect-for-our-fundamental-rights-as-citizens RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2021/7 - © 2021 Author(s) 13