CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY 2020 [Zambian] government . . . [had] deprived them of their family and [was] depriving their families of the men’s support, and this constitutes a violation of the dignity of a human being, thereby violating Article 5.”480 In the case of former president Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, the African Commission found against the Zambian government’s constitutional amendment that required anyone who wanted to compete for the presidency to prove that both parents were Zambians from birth, and ruled that the provision violated Articles 2, 3, and 13 (non-discrimination, equality before the law, and participation in public life). The Commission stated, in relation to the status of pre-independence migrants: [T]he movement of people in what had been the Central African Federation (now the States of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) was free and … by Zambia’s own admission, all such residents were, upon application, granted the citizenship of Zambia at independence. Rights which have been enjoyed for over 30 years cannot be lightly taken away. To suggest that an indigenous Zambian is one who was born and whose parents were born in what came (later) to be known as the sovereign territory of the State of Zambia may be arbitrary and its application of retrospectivity cannot be justifiable according to the Charter.481 More recently, the African Commission considered the provisions in the 2000 constitution of Côte d’Ivoire requiring a candidate for the presidency both to be Ivorian from birth him or herself and for both parents also to be Ivorian from birth. The Commission found the provisions “unreasonable and unjustifiable, and […] an unnecessary restriction on the right to participate in government” as well as “discriminatory because it applies different standards to the same categories of persons, that is persons born in Côte d’Ivoire, who are now treated based on the places of origin of their parents”.482 In 2015, in a decision adopted in relation to the Nubian community in Kenya, the Commission reaffirmed that: [N]ationality is intricately linked to an individual’s juridical personality and that denial of access to identity documents which entitles an individual to enjoy rights associated with citizenship violates an individual’s right to the recognition of his juridical personality. The Commission considers that a claim to citizenship or nationality as a legal status is protected under Article 5 of the Charter.483 In April 2013, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted a resolution which reaffirmed the right to a nationality as implied within Article 5 of the Charter.484 A year later, the Commission formally approved a study on nationality prepared in accordance with this resolution485 and decided to draft a protocol to the Charter on the right to a nationality for adoption by heads of state.486 In July 2015, in accordance with its resolutions of the previous two years, and following expert meetings to draft the text, 480 Amnesty International v. Zambia, Communication No. 212/98, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 1999, para. 50. 481 Legal Resources Foundation v. Zambia, Communication No.211/98, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 2001, para 71. 482 Mouvement ivoirien des droits humains (MIDH) v. Côte d'Ivoire, Communication No. 246/02, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 2008. 483 The Nubian Community v. Kenya, Communication No. 317/06, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (2015). 484 Resolution No. 234 on the Right to Nationality, adopted at the 53rd Ordinary Session 9-23 April 2013. 485 The Right to Nationality in Africa, Study undertaken by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons, pursuant to Resolution 234 of April 2013 and approved by the Commission at its 55th Ordinary Session, 28 April – 12 May 2014. 486 Resolution 277, on the drafting of a Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Right to Nationality in Africa, adopted at the 55th Ordinary Session, 28 April – 12 May 2014. UNHCR / December, 2020 109