The Universal Periodic Review of Côte d’Ivoire under the First and Second Cycles 3. Côte d’Ivoire was under review during the first UPR cycle on 2 December 2009 and during the second cycle on 29 April 2014. 4. During sixth session of the 1st Cycle,3 Canada recommended that Côte d’Ivoire take the necessary measures for stateless children born in its territory to acquire Ivorian nationality and remove discriminatory eligibility grounds for naturalisation (according to which, persons must be free of mental or physical handicaps as a criteria for naturalisation). The Netherlands recommended that Cote d’Ivoire take further measures to reduce the number of stateless people in the country. Several states also recommended that Cote d’Ivoire accede to the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (Netherlands and the Republic of Congo), the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (Netherlands and Democratic Republic of Congo) and the International Covenant on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families (ICRMW) (Republic of Congo). All recommendations were noted. 5. During the nineteenth session of the Second Cycle,4 states commended Côte d’Ivoire for acceding to the two UN Statelessness Conventions (Mexico, Spain, and United States of America) in 2013. Ghana and Chad recommended that Cote d’Ivoire accede to the ICRMW. Switzerland expressed its concerns about the number of people at risk of statelessness but did not make a formal recommendation on this issue. Côte d’Ivoire’s international obligations 6. Since 2013, Côte d’Ivoire has been party to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention). It is also party to the following treaties and conventions that are relevant in preventing and reducing statelessness and ensuring the right to a nationality: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). 7. Côte d’Ivoire has not ratified the ICRMW which states that each child of a migrant worker shall have the right to a nationality (Article 29). 8. The gaps in law and practice relating to statelessness that are addressed in this Submission are in clear violation of the international obligations of Côte d’Ivoire. Article 1 of the 1961 Convention sets out that all otherwise stateless children who are born in the territory of a state should be granted the nationality of that state. The Convention emphasises that foundlings in particular, should be granted the nationality of the state they are found in (Article 2). Article 7 of the CRC obliges states to ensure the right to birth registration and a nationality for all children – in particular, where they would be otherwise stateless. The right to a nationality should be enjoyed without discrimination, including on 3 A/HRC/13/9, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G10/101/40/PDF/G1010140.pdf?OpenElement. 4 A/HRC/27/6, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G14/075/83/PDF/G1407583.pdf?OpenElement. 2