Peoples’ Right to a Nationality of race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national or social origin, fortune, disability, birth, or other status… 112 On the other hand, the principle of legal status engrained in art 5 of the Banjul Charter states that ‘[e]very individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status’ has developed into an African legal doctrine on nationality. 113 During its 53rd Session in April 2013, for instance, the Commission consecrated this principle of legal status, which has been substantiated by case law in adopting Resolution 234, which states that: [T]he right to nationality of every human person is a fundamental human right implied within the provisions of Article 5 of the African Charter for Human and People’s Rights and essential to the enjoyment of other fundamental rights and freedoms under the Charter. 114 The Legal Status doctrine on the right to nationality has also found expression in the idea of a common legal identity, which is Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDGS’) and has been a major focus of the SADC countries. In August 2016, the SADC Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (‘MIDSA’) in Gaborone promised to work towards a SADC Ministerial Declaration on the Right to Nationality and Statelessness. 115 Moreover, in November 2016, the SADC Parliamentary Forum adopted a resolution on ‘the Prevention of Statelessness and the Protection of Stateless Persons in the SADC Region’, based on the promotion of a common legal identity by 2030 in accordance with Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals. 116 The case law of the Commission has also used art 5 on legal status to consecrate the right to nationality, not only to individuals, but also to people and communities. In the 1998 Legal Resources Foundation v Zambia case, the Commission stated that the application of the term ‘peoples’ to a section of the population of a state or the concept of ‘peoplehood’ to any group of persons must include persons who are bound together by reason of common ancestry, ethnic origin, language or cultural habits. 117 Frans Viljoen concludes that ‘[b]y adopting this approach, at least in that particular instance, the Commission gives a clear indication that a linguistic or ethnic sub-set of the population may qualify as a “people”’.118 Although this provision refers to individual rights, its reference to race and ethnic group also makes it a potential collective right to address the problem of mass expulsions. 119 112 See Draft Protocol to the African Charter (n 10) art 4(1). 113 See generally John K Modise v Botswana (n 111). 114 See African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Resolution on the Right to 115 116 117 118 119 Nationality, Doc No ACHPR/Res.234 (LIII) 13, 53rd ord sess, 23 April 2013 <https://www.achpr.org/sessions/resolutions?id=260>. This position had already been taken in: John K Modise v Botswana (n 111) [91]; Amnesty International v Zambia (n 111) [50]. See Liesl H Muller, ‘Legal Identity for All — Ending Statelessness in SADC’ in Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals: Perspectives from Judges and Lawyers in Southern Africa on Promoting Rule of Law and Equal Access to Justice (Southern African Litigation Centre 2016) 140, 143. ibid 142. Legal Resources Foundation v Zambia (n 47) [73]. See Frans Viljeon, International Human Rights Law in Africa (Oxford University Press 2007) 223. See generally Tamás Molnár, ‘The Prohibition of Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality under International Law and EU Law: New Perspectives’ [2014] Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law 67. 53