Adopting a national plan of action to end statelessness in Ghana

(A GNA feature by Iddi Z. Yire)
Accra, March 6, GNA - It would be useful, perhaps, to attempt a definition of the term 'Statelessness' before delving into the main discussion of this write-up. Simply put, Statelessness refers to a situation whereby an individual residing in a state is denied all the privileges and rights given to its citizens because he or she has no documentation to prove that he or she is a citizen.

About a year ago, at the first Ministerial Regional Conference on Statelessness in West Africa held in Abidjan in February 2015, Ghana committed to accede to the two Statelessness Conventions by the end of 2016.

The Abidjan declaration was adopted by Heads of State and Governments of member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on May 19, 2015 in Accra under the chairmanship of Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama.

Despite the fact that this laudable initiative by the government is a step in the right direction, there is the need for government in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and civil society organisations to speed up work on the adoption of a National Action Plan to end Statelessness in the country.

The affected individuals are in that situation because they have difficulties proving they possess links to a state due, for instance, to a lack of birth registration and personal documentation that could traces their origins and confirm their identity.

Nationality is a legal bond between a person and a state, which provides people with a sense of identity but, more importantly, enables them to exercise a wide range of rights.

Without nationality, statelessness can be harmful, in some cases devastating, to the lives of the individuals concerned.

Stateless persons may find it difficult assessing job opportunities, health and educational facilities since they cannot prove their nationalities with documents.

This can create a pool of very discontented people, who then become vulnerable to criminality and all forms of extremism which can threaten the very existence of a state.

'Statelessness is a profound violation of an individual's human rights. It would be deeply unethical to perpetuate the pain it causes when solutions are so clearly within reach. This Global Action Plan sets out a strategy to put a definitive end to this human suffering within 10 years. I count on your support to help make this ambitious goal a reality,' Mr António Guterres of UNHCR stated at the signing of the Abidjan Declaration.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that 'everyone has the right to a nationality', thereby acknowledging the legal and practical importance of nationality for the enjoyment of human rights.

It is therefore, essential that the government works to make certain that everyone within Ghana's borders holds a nationality.

According to the UNHCR, the problem of statelessness remains a glaring anomaly with devastating impacts on the lives of at least 10 million people around the world who live without any nationality, out of which the West African sub-region accounts for over 750,000.

In October 2013, the UNHCR called for the 'total commitment of the international community to end statelessness'.

The Global Action Plan to End Statelessness: 2014 - 2024, which has been developed in consultation with States, civil society and international organisations, sets out a guiding framework made up of 10 Actions that need to be taken to end statelessness within 10 years.

Provided that there is adequate leadership and effective implementation of the Global Action Plan, statelessness can be ended within a decade.

The Global Action Plan includes a number of Actions to resolve existing situations of statelessness, prevent new cases of statelessness from emerging and better identify and protect stateless persons.

Some of the 10 Actions to end statelessness are: resolve existing major situations of statelessness; ensure that no child is born stateless; remove gender discrimination from nationality laws; prevent denial; loss or deprivation of nationality on discriminatory grounds and prevent statelessness in cases of State succession.

The rest are action to grant protection status to stateless migrants and facilitate their naturalization; ensure birth registration for the prevention of statelessness; issue nationality documentation to those entitled to it; accede to the UN Statelessness Conventions and improve quantitative and qualitative data on stateless populations.

According to the UNHCR, because the causes, profile and magnitude of statelessness vary, not all actions are required in all countries. Indeed, in the majority of cases, only one or two actions will be relevant to address statelessness within specific country contexts.

For this reason, the Actions presented in this Global Action Plan are not in order of implementation, priority or importance. Countries are encouraged to accomplish actions by developing and implementing National Action Plans.

These National Action Plans can set out detailed strategies to complete selected Actions and indicate detailed country-level goals and milestones.

It is recommended that National Action Plans are developed through a consultation process which includes the involvement of UNHCR; other UN and development actors and regional bodies where relevant; national institutions such as relevant ministries, parliament, and civil society and stateless groups.

In his remarks at a day's workshop on statelessness involving various stakeholders at Ho in December 2015, Mr James Agalga, the Deputy Minister for the Interior said the issue of statelessness is 'a serious human rights as well as a developmental issue which demands national attention'.

The workshop formed part of a consultative process expected to lead to the adoption of a national plan of action to end statelessness.

The Deputy Minister was of the view that ending statelessness will go a long way to contribute towards the realization of the ultimate objectives of the sustainable development goals which require legal identity for all including birth registration.

The UNHCR's Campaign to End Statelessness aims to fully resolve existing situations of statelessness and prevent new cases of statelessness during the next 10 years.

Persuading and supporting states to undertake several key actions could sever the vicious cycle of statelessness that affects millions of people globally.

The actions include ensuring that every birth is registered, thereby helping to establish legal proof of parentage and place of birth, which are key elements of proof necessary to establish nationality, and ensuring that all children are granted nationality if they would otherwise be stateless - for example, if their own parents are already stateless.

One major cause of statelessness is the existence of gaps in a country's legal regime relating to nationality. Ghana must therefore put in place a legislative framework and a National Action Plan to end stateless.

For a single child to be born within the nation's boundaries without a nationality is too many a number; and the way forward is the adoption of a National Action Plan to end Statelessness now.

GNA