UNHCR / H. CAUX UNHCR / STATELESSNESS AND NATIONALITY IN CÔ TE D’IVOIRE A Study for UNHCR Mirna Adjami December 2016 Statelessness and Nationality in Côte d’Ivoire Mirna Adjami Table of Contents Methodology and Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... 2 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 3 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Nationality and statelessness in Côte d’Ivoire: what’s at stake? ............................................ 5 1.2. What is “statelessness?” ......................................................................................................... 6 1.3. Côte d’Ivoire’s international obligations on nationality and statelessness............................. 7 2. Political and Migration Context of Côte d’Ivoire ............................................................................. 7 2.1. Defining elements of Houphouët-Boigny’s immigration and integration policies .................. 7 2.2. Turbulent decades: the rise of Ivoirité, instability, civil war, and political compromise ....... 10 2.3. Contemporary stabilization of Côte d’Ivoire’s migrant and foreign populations ................. 13 3. Analysis of Côte d’Ivoire’s Nationality Laws and their Implementation in Practice ..................... 14 3.1. The 1961 Nationality Code and an overview of its evolution ............................................... 14 3.1.1. Nationality by origin....................................................................................................... 15 3.1.2. Who is a “foreigner?” .................................................................................................... 16 3.1.3. Two avenues for integrating “foreigners” and their descendants into the Ivorian citizenry .......................................................................................................................... 17 3.1.4. Overview of Nationality Code amendments and special nationality programs ............ 18 3.2. Côte d’Ivoire’s contemporary nationality laws and their implementation in practice ......... 20 3.2.1. Nationality by origin....................................................................................................... 21 3.2.2. Acquisition of nationality as a matter of right: adoption or marriage .......................... 22 3.2.3. Acquisition of nationality by declaration ....................................................................... 22 3.2.4. Acquisition of nationality by decision of public authority: naturalization and reacquisition of Ivorian nationality ................................................................................ 23 3.2.5. Common requirements and effects of acquisition of nationality .................................. 25 3.2.6. Subsidiary acquisition of nationality by children of parents who acquire Ivorian nationality ...................................................................................................................... 26 3.2.7. Dual nationality .............................................................................................................. 27 3.2.8. Loss and renunciation of nationality ............................................................................. 28 3.2.9. Deprivation of nationality .............................................................................................. 29 3.2.10. Proving nationality before Ivorian courts and certificates of nationality ...................... 29 3.2.11. Statelessness safeguards and compliance with the statelessness conventions ........... 30 3.2.12. Remaining gender inequalities in the Nationality Code ................................................ 32 4. Legal Frameworks on Civil Status and Identification and their Interplay with Nationality Laws .. 33 4.1. Birth registration and civil status ........................................................................................... 34 4.1.1. The legal framework on civil status ............................................................................... 34 4.1.2. Practical challenges related to birth registration and civil status.................................. 36 4.1.3. Ordinance facilitating registration of births and deaths from the crisis period ............ 37 4.2. Personal identification of nationals and foreigners in Côte d’Ivoire ..................................... 38 4.2.1. Compromises on identification in the crisis-recovery process 2007-2010.................... 38 4.2.2. Towards normalization of the identification system? ................................................... 40 5. Profiles of Stateless Persons and Groups at Risk of Statelessness ................................................ 41 5.1. Historical migrants and their descendants ............................................................................ 41 5.1.1. Nationality concerns for Burkinabè, Malian, and Guinean migrants ............................ 41 1 5.1.2. Intended beneficiaries of the integrationist policies in place at independence ........... 45 5.1.3. The case of those naturalized by collective decree in 1995 and their descendants ..... 47 5.2. Children of unknown parents ................................................................................................ 48 5.3. Border populations ................................................................................................................ 50 5.4. Returnees, Ivorian refugee children born abroad, and internally displaced persons ........... 50 5.5. Contemporary migrants, including trafficked persons .......................................................... 52 5.6. Individuals refused Ivorian national and voter ID cards for the 2010 elections ................... 54 5.7. Constructive acquisition and/or arbitrary deprivation of Ivorian nationality? ..................... 56 5.8. Challenges in obtaining statelessness statistics .................................................................... 57 6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 59 7. Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 61 7.1. To the Ivorian government .................................................................................................... 61 7.2. To UNHCR .............................................................................................................................. 62 7.3. To ECOWAS and ECOWAS Member States with nationals in Côte d’Ivoire .......................... 63 7.4. To international organizations, the diplomatic community, and donors in Côte d’Ivoire .... 63 7.5. To Ivorian civil society ........................................................................................................... 64 8. Annexes ......................................................................................................................................... 65 8.1. ANNEX I: Historical Evolution of Côte d’Ivoire’s Nationality Laws and Regulations ............. 65 8.2. ANNEX II: Special Naturalization Procedure Pursuant to Linas-Marcoussis (2004-2007) and Special Acquisition of Nationality by Declaration Program (2014-2016) .............................. 68 8.3. ANNEX III: Evolution of Legal Framework on Identification of Ivorian Nationals and Foreigners .............................................................................................................................. 74 9. Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 78 9.1. Côte d’Ivoire Government and Legal Sources ....................................................................... 78 9.2. Other Government and Legal Sources .................................................................................. 80 9.3. Articles, Books, Manuscripts, Political Agreements, and Reports ......................................... 81 Methodology and Acknowledgments This report was researched and written by a consultant, Mirna Adjami. The author conducted six weeks of field research in Côte d’Ivoire between June and August 2014. Due to resource limitations, the author focused interviews in Abidjan and the city’s outskirts, but also visited central Côte d’Ivoire (Daloa and environs), and western Côte d’Ivoire (Guiglo, Duékoué, Man, and surrounding areas). The original report was written by the author in English, has been translated into French, and is available in both languages. A draft of this report was shared with the Ministry of Justice and the Service d’Aide et d’Assistance aux Réfugiés et Apatrides (SAARA) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment and the final version incorporates comments made by the Ministry of Justice, SAARA, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and other stakeholders and has been updated with information received through December 2016. The author would particularly like to thank Mr. Paul Koreki of the Ministry of Justice, UNHCR, and Bronwen Manby, all of whom provided guidance and feedback throughout the development of this report, and acknowledge the insights of