eligible – but, in addition, without proof of refugee status, the evidence of a Liberian connection was sometimes even more difficult to show for those who had been absent for a long time.205 Among those rejected were individuals who had spent a long time out of the country, having left as children, and who no longer spoke Liberian English or any national language fluently. Given that only 5 percent of births are registered in Liberia, official proof of birth in the country (which should automatically give Liberian citizenship, provided the child is “negro”) is rare. With no knowledge of the villages they came from and no documentation to prove a connection to Liberia, a registration with UNHCR as a Liberian refugee apparently did not confirm their Liberian nationality. For those born abroad, although the constitution provides that a child of a Liberian father or mother is Liberian, the nationality law only grants nationality to those whose fathers are nationals, and they must take an oath of allegiance before they are 23.206 Former Liberian refugees interviewed for this report also mentioned the situation of Liberian women who had children with Guinean soldiers who were part of the ECOMOG peacekeeping forces in Liberia and had returned with them to Guinea, so never requested asylum; only to be rejected by the families of those soldiers, “and now they cannot find their way home.” Others included non-Liberians married to Liberian citizens, who would under Liberian law be required to naturalise to obtain Liberian citizenship, and have no additional rights based on marriage; and at least one person who held a voter’s card in another country (in this case, Nigeria), which under Liberian law results in automatic loss of Liberian nationality.207 Those who have been denied Liberian passports through this process are stateless unless and until the Liberian government can be persuaded to change its position, or another state recognises a connection that gives them the right to its nationality. 205 Telephone interview, IOM Accra, July 2014. Liberia Constitution Art 28; Aliens and Nationality Law, Article § 20.1(b). 207 Interviews with former Liberian refugees Conakry, Guinea; CNISR Guinea; and UNHCR Nigeria, June and July 2014. 206 62