RECOMMENDATIONS A. Preventing new cases of statelessness through law reforms   4. Reaffirming the relevancy of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, we urge ECOWAS Member States which have not acceded to the two international instruments to do so by the end of December 2015. 5. We call upon the National Human Rights Institutions to set up a committee to monitor the accession to the Conventions by those States which have committed themselves in this regard and the implementation of the Conventions by States that have already acceded. 6. We call upon States to revise their laws in light of the relevant international and regional human rights instruments related to nationality and statelessness, and to guarantee the right to a nationality and the principle of nondiscrimination. Once national legislations are revised to conform to international law, it is essential that their application be done on a retroactive basis in order to resolve existing situations of statelessness. 7. Recognizing the necessity of harmonizing the nationality laws in the subregion and ECOWAS’s pivotal role in eradication and prevention of statelessness, we recommend that ECOWAS, in collaboration with UNHCR and the competent institutions of the African Union, adopt common standards that will guide the reform of nationality legislation of West African States. It is essential that these standards include the following: -­‐ Removal of discriminatory provisions in national legislation concerning the transmission of nationality to a spouse or a child, including based on sex, birth out of marriage, religion, ethnic affiliation and disability. -­‐ Every child has the right to a nationality, his/her nationality must be confirmed no later than when the age of majority is reached, including through provisions guaranteeing that any person born in the country and who stays there during his/her childhood is entitled to obtain the nationality of that country either automatically or by his/her own choice. -­‐ Prohibition of the renunciation of nationality if the applicant has no other nationality. -­‐ Other safeguards against statelessness under the Conventions on statelessness and international and regional human rights treaties. 3