CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA \Y this more usual phrasing, but with a lack of clarity as to the age of the child when found.”° The Ethiopian law states that the presumption of Ethiopian nationality relates to an “infant” found in the territory, and the upper age of an “infant” is not defined. Somalia’s law includes protection for foundlings in a provision on “minors in special circumstances” which refers both to a “minor” and to a “child”, without indicating the difference (if any) between them.” Interpretation of such laws should bear in mind the definition of “child” in Article 2 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, as a “human Comment being below the age of 18 years”. In its General on Article 6 of the Charter on the right to birth registration Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child urged and a nationality, the African States to, “at a minimum, grant nationality to all such children found abandoned, including those who (at the date they were found) were not yet able to communicate accurately information pertaining to the identity of their parents or their place of birth.””2 In Djibouti, a new law adopted in 2015 any family support, necessary to and protect a gives provides for legal protection of minors, including children without authority to a children’s judge child.”> Djibouti provided an (juge des additional mineurs) temporary to take the steps procedure to resolve statelessness in Article 8 of its 2004 nationality code: for a transitional period of five years following the adoption of the law, the competent officials were empowered to issue certificates based on information in public knowledge (actes de notoriété) enabling late birth registration and recognition of nationality for those born in the territory who had not been able to establish their Djiboutian nationality.’ This system would be similar to the recognition (possession d'état) that exists of nationality in a number by a court based of former French on a person’s territories in Africa. “apparent status” It does not seem, however, that this proposal to provide a facilitated route to proof of nationality was enabled in practice through the adoption of an implementing decree. The provision is not repeated in the 2018 civil code of which the nationality code now forms part. 7 The Somaliland Citizenship Law provides that citizenship “may be granted to a child who is born in the territory of Somaliland and whose parents are not known”; with the apparent implication that citizenship is acquired by grant rather than attributed by operation of law, as is required by international law. Somaliland Citizenship Law 2002, art.11. 7 taw No. 28 of 22 December 1962, Article 15. Minors in Special Circumstances: 1. Any minor who is a child of unknown parents and was born in the territory of the Somali Republic, shall be considered a Somali citizen, provided that he has not acquired a foreign citizenship or the status as subject of a foreign country. 2. Any child of unknown parents found in the territory of the Somali Republic shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have been born in the territory of the Somali Republic. 7 African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, General Comment on Article 6 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, ACERWC/GC/02 (2014), adopted by the Committee at its twenty-third Ordinary Session (07 - 16 April, 2014), para 96. ? toin°95/AN/15/7eme L portant Code de protection juridique des mineurs. 7 “Pour une période transitoire de 5 ans, le Directeur de la Population et les Commissaires des Districts de I'intérieur sont habilités a procéder a la délivrance des actes de notoriété supplétifs d'actes de naissance pour les individus nés en République de Djibouti et qui, par méconnaissance ou par impossibilité, n'ont pas pu établir leur qualité de djiboutien. Ils sont réputés avoir été djiboutiens méme si cette qualité n'est établie que postérieurement a leur naissance.” Loi no.79/AN/04 art.8. 22 UNHCR — December 2021