Statelessness in Africa, like elsewhere, is attributable to a multitude of causes ranging from state succession, to gaps in national citizenship laws, to targeted discrimination against certain communities of people. However, a common contributing factor to statelessness in African countries is the colonial legacy which created borders that ultimately led to divided linguistic/ethnic/religious communities and interfered with traditional patterns of migration. An additional cause of statelessness has been the increase in movement across these borders. Later this month Refugees International will begin to highlight the problem of statelessness in Africa by examining the nationality conflict in Côte d’Ivoire and the protracted situation of Mauritanians in Senegal. Maureen Lynch, RI’s Senior Advocate for Stateless Initiatives, will lead the assessment mission, joined by consultant Dawn Calabia.

Côte d’Ivoire

At the heart of the war in Côte d’Ivoire and the tensions with the country’s large migrant population (which constitutes more than one third of the country's 17 million inhabitants) are the questions: Who is an Ivorian citizen and who rightfully should be? During the twentieth century, Côte d’Ivoire allowed millions of African immigrants, particularly from Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana, to work inside its borders. Laborers came to work on cocoa, coffee and cotton plantations. At least 26 percent of the population in Côte d’Ivoire is estimated to be of foreign descent (though estimates run as high as 40 percent), and of that group, 95 percent were other Africans. An estimated three million people live in Côte d’Ivoire without citizenship documentation. Citizenship issues helped spark a civil war that has displaced hundreds of thousands.

While legislation has now been passed to resolve the citizenship question, additional drafts on nationality and naturalization and the May 2006 pilot program to identify and register Ivorians indicate that it remains a troublesome issue.

Senegal

In the late 1980s and early 1990s Mauritania imposed statelessness on a large portion of its non-Arab population. Over a decade later, the deprivation of citizenship continues to plague the population and obstruct durable solutions. More than 20,000 Mauritanian refugees (estimates vary widely, from 20,000 to 60,000) are still living on the Senegal side of the border. UNHCR assisted the refugees from 1989 until 1997, when all food and other relief were cut off. Most of the refugees have no documentation other than an annually renewable card that provides recognition as a refugee. They are not eligible for government assistance, health care or most public services.

While both Senegal and Mauritania have permitted informal repatriation, refugees currently remaining in Senegal have declared that they will not return to Mauritania until their security is assured, their citizenship is restored, and their property is returned.

In September of 2005, the Mauritanians living in Senegal renewed efforts to resolve their stateless plight. A so-called Dodel Appeal was introduced as a call for the right of return to Mauritania, the right to regain Mauritanian citizenship, and reparations for property lost at the time of their expulsion. Further international attention and pressure needs to be generated in order to ensure such opportunities are seized and rights are restored.