With respect to Action 2, Ensure that no child is
born stateless, UNHCR and the Ministry of Justice
of Côte d’Ivoire organized a workshop on 11 and
12 April to prepare a circular instructing judges on
the application of the 1961 Convention provision
regarding foundlings. This follows a 2018 landmark
court decision which granted Ivorian nationality
to five foundlings. In June it was confirmed that
an additional 28 foundlings were granted Ivorian
nationality following a sensitization campaign carried
out with judges from the cities of Katiola, Daloa and
Abengourou.
In line with Action 6, Grant protection status
to stateless migrants and facilitate their
naturalization, on 21 May, the Ministry of Interior
of the Czech Republic issued for the first time
a document confirming that an application for
determination of a persons statelessness had been
lodged. This followed a judgment of the Supreme
Administrative Court stating that in the absence
of a statelessness determination procedure, the
Ministry of Interior must apply by analogy provisions
governing asylum proceedings.
There continues to be significant activity in relation
to Action 7, Ensure birth registration for the
prevention of statelessness. On 15 May, UNHCR
and the Government of Sudan signed a partnership
agreement in relation to a project to promote access
to birth registration for refugees, IDPs and persons
at risk of statelessness. The project aims to issue
birth certificates for 18,000 children and will include
mobile registration campaigns for newborns, late
birth registration, training and capacity building
for civil registry offices, as well as support in the
construction of a birth registration center in White
Nile State.
In line with Action 2 and Action 7, Ensure birth
registration for the prevention of statelessness,
on 17 April, the Parliament of Kazakhstan convened
a high-level meeting to discuss the issues of
birth registration, childhood statelessness and
renunciation and loss of nationality. Following
proposals by the Human Rights and Children’s
Rights Ombudspersons, UNHCR and UNICEF, the
Ministry of Justice submitted a proposal to amend
the Code on Marriage and Family to ensure that all
children born in Kazakhstan are registered at birth
regardless of the legal status of their parents. The
proposed revision is currently under consideration
by the Parliament.
On 29 May, the Government of Moldova adopted
an “Instruction on the certification of civil status
facts occurred and recorded in the localities on
the left bank of Nistru and in Bender municipality”
(available in Romanian and Russian) that will simplify
the procedure of recognizing and registering births
recorded in these non-government controlled areas,
and thus help prevent statelessness.
With regard to Action 3, Remove gender
discrimination from nationality laws, from 23 to
25 April Togo organized a validation workshop
concerning draft amendments of the country’s
nationality law. The main objective of the reform
is to remove gender discrimination with regard to
the conferral of nationality to children and foreign
spouses. The anticipated reform also foresees
statelessness safeguards related to the renunciation,
loss and deprivation of nationality.
Since June, refugee children born in Mauritania and
living in urban centres can obtain birth certificates.
In February 2018, the Government of Mauritania
had already begun issuing birth certificates to
Malian refugee children born in Mberra camp. The
Government of Mauritania is now taking concrete
steps to reduce the risk of statelessness through the
delivery of birth certificates to all refugee children
born in Mauritania.
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