Tag Archives: children

Forever delayed – statelessness “under consideration” in Lebanon

Lebanon

In this blog I consider the causes of statelessness in Lebanon.  The situation in Lebanon is complex, for historic reasons, due to discriminatory nationality laws, administrative challenges and its large long-term refugee population, primarily from Syria and Palestine.  There is enough material to fill a whole book, never mind just the one post. In this blog I focus on statelessness …

I am a person from here – the Sabah stateless struggling without citizenship in Malaysia

Sabah stateless

In this blog I consider the stateless population in Sabah state, part of Malaysia, how and why they are in this precarious position and what, if anything, Malaysia is doing to reduce the number of stateless people in Sabah.   Who are the Sabah stateless? Sabah is a state in Malaysia and part of the island of Borneo.  Sabah became …

The politics of registering children: a second look at legal identity for children

Birth Registration

In this blog I take a second look at legal identity for children in light of South Africa’s recent proposals to refuse to issue birth certificates to children born in South Africa to foreign parents. I look at the new proposals which have attracted much criticism and consider attempts elsewhere to do the same. The impact of restricting birth registration …

The right start – children and the right to a legal identity

children

The recent Universal Children’s Day on 20 November raised the issue of legal identity and access to basic rights for children. Children’s Day celebrates the date UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In this blog I want to use the Convention’s provisions on legal identity and identity documents as a starting point to …

Illuminations from a Cave – statelessness in Thailand

Illuminations from a Cave - statelessness in Thailand

The Wild Boars football team trapped in a cave in Thailand this summer received a lot of media attention, as did their subsequent dramatic rescue. The media initially reported on their endurance as they waited to be rescued and on the bravery of their rescuers. Then, as more was discovered about the team, the attention focused on the fact that …

The Abidjan Declaration – West Africa’s commitment to eliminate statelessness

Abidjan Declaration

What is the Abidjan Declaration on the eradication of statelessness? The Abidjan Declaration was adopted in February 2015 by the Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to support UNHCR’s global campaign to end statelessness by 2024.  It was endorsed by the Summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments in Accra, Ghana on 19 May …

Foreigners and Foundlings – Statelessness in Côte d’Ivoire

Statelessness in Côte d’Ivoire

In this post I examine the issue of statelessness in Côte d’Ivoire. I argue that the country needs to move on from the discriminatory treatment of stateless and undocumented people within its borders, especially children. Côte d’Ivoire also needs to take steps to fulfil the commitments it has made to eliminate statelessness under international law.   Forced and voluntary migration …

Blockchain technology: the answer to securing legal identity?

Blockchain technology

In this blog I tend to examine the legal aspects of identity and of how it impacts groups and individuals. But I have noticed recently a lot of chatter about blockchain technology and its potential uses in relation to legal identity and for identity documents. Being the kind of lawyer that is not that technically savvy, I want to delve …

SDG 16.9: Is using birth registration sufficient to capture the legal identity target?

SDG 16.9

Before the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and SDG 16.9 there were the Millennium Development Goals (“MDGs”). They did not strictly address identity or legal identity, but the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) did underline the urgency for establishing adequate civil registration systems. For example, six of the eight MDGs rely on accurate estimates of fertility, mortality and causes of death data …