2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(1) INTRODUCTION Statelessness affects every region of the world. After decades of neglect, several countries have introduced legal regimes specifically designed to identify and protect stateless persons in recent years. Especially since 2010, an accelerating proliferation of so-called statelessness-specific protection regimes can be witnessed, particularly in Europe and the Americas. 1 These two regions are leading the way with respect to the identification, prevention and eradication of statelessness. Other states and regions may want to learn from them. Indeed, in many other states across the world, especially in Africa, there are virtually no statelessness determination procedures (‘SDP’), whether of an administrative or judicial nature. 2 The aim of this article is to identify international norms and best practices regarding the establishment and operation of an SDP, and to apply these to a future SDP in Nigeria. When proposing an SDP for Nigeria, we strive for the most extensive protection for stateless persons, while taking the particular legal and institutional framework of Nigeria into account. Nigeria is chosen as a case study as it currently lacks a specific procedure for the protection, identification and prevention of statelessness, although it has recently pledged to develop an SDP. 3 The development of such a procedure is urgent, as a sizable number of persons in Nigeria are at risk of statelessness, 4 mainly undocumented border populations. This includes notably the Bakassi population, which was affected by the cession of a part of Nigeria (Bakassi) to Cameroon in the wake of a judgment of the 1 2 3 4 Relevant European countries include Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Kosovo, Moldova, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Countries in the Americas include Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. See, eg, Gábor Gyulai, ‘Amicus Curiae Submitted by the European Network on Statelessness to the Borgating Court of Appeal in Norway’, Submission in Case Number 17073503ASD-BORG/01, Borgating Court of Appeal 25 May 2018, 2–3. See also Noémi Radnai, ‘Statelessness Determination in Europe: Towards the Implementation of Regionally Harmonised National SDPs’ (Statelessness Working Paper No 2017/8, 5th ed, Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion, December 2017) 6; Gábor Gyulai, ‘General Framework and State Practice’ (Presentation on Statelessness for the Serbian Government Delegation, UNHCR Regional Representation for Central Europe, 4 November 2014); Katia Bianchini, ‘A Comparative Analysis of Statelessness Determination Procedures in 10 EU States’ (2017) 29 International Journal of Refugee Law 42, 43. Many African states like Nigeria have neither conducted mapping on statelessness nor have mechanisms to identify stateless persons within their territories. Therefore, the current estimated figure of about 10 million stateless persons worldwide by UNHCR may just be half of the actual number. No country in Africa has a statelessness determination procedure (‘SDP’) in place at the moment, but this is gradually changing with the recent initiatives by the Economic Community of West African States (‘ECOWAS’) and the African Union (‘AU’). At the time of writing, the AU is on the verge of finalising a ‘Draft Protocol’ to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the ‘Specific Aspects on the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa’. This Draft Protocol is largely influenced by the ECOWAS Abidjan Declaration of 2015, wherein state members committed ‘to prevent and reduce statelessness by reforming constitutional, legislative and institutional regimes related to nationality’ and called ‘upon the African Union to prepare and adopt a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the right to nationality’, see Abidjan Declaration of Ministers of ECOWAS Member States on Eradication of Statelessness (25 February 2015). ‘Results of the High-Level Segment on Statelessness’, UNHCR (Web Page, October 2019), <https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/results-of-the-high-level-segment-on-statelessness/>. Due to the absence of a legal framework in Nigeria, there is no official record of people who are stateless or at risk of statelessness in Nigeria. 87