26. Based on the content of this submission, the following recommendations are made which we
hope the Committee will consider in urging the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho to
ensure the right of every child to acquire a nationality:
a. Ensure that all national laws, regulations and policies are in line with Lesotho’s obligations
under international law and its Constitution, ensure the right of every child to acquire a
nationality, and prevent childhood statelessness.
b. Prevent discrimination against children who are particularly vulnerable to statelessness
due to their circumstances or discriminatory legal provisions, in particular, foundlings,
children whose births have not been registered, children of Basotho citizens married
abroad and children of Mosotho mothers and foreign or stateless fathers.
c. Take all necessary steps to break down barriers to accessing birth registration, and ensure
that the births of all children born in Lesotho are registered immediately. Ensure nondiscriminatory, comprehensive and consistent implementation of regulations relevant to
birth registration, in particular of children born in rural areas, among indigenous
populations and for children not born in hospitals, including by providing for free birth
registration for those unable to pay the current costs and raising awareness about the
importance of birth registration.
d. Fully implement the safeguards against statelessness contained in the Constitution and
Citizenship Order to ensure that any child born in Cameroon who would otherwise be
stateless may acquire Cameroonian nationality, whatever the place of birth of his or her
parents.
e. Undertake, as soon as possible, a full population census with a view to improving the
available data on the population as a whole, in order have a clearer picture of the extent
of statelessness and access to nationality in the country.
f.
Ensure that all foundlings or abandoned children found on territory are protected and that
their right to acquire Lesotho nationality is guaranteed, in compliance with Article 7 CRC
and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
g. Ensure that all Basotho citizens who were themselves born abroad can pass on their
Lesotho nationality to their children born abroad.
h. Amend its nationality legislation and remove discriminatory provisions which allow
Mosotho men to pass on their nationality to their spouses while Mosotho women cannot.
i.
Establish a statelessness determination procedure and domesticate a legal framework for
the protection of stateless persons, in line with the 1954 Convention and in order to ensure
that stateless persons enjoy their human right.
j.
Amend section 10 of the Citizenship Order which requires a stateless person be 18 years
old and have legal status in Lesotho before making an application for nationality. Ensure
that all stateless children, regardless of legal status, can apply for citizenship without
discrimination.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents