In recent years, statelessness has become a major concern in various contexts and levels particularly within Africa. Often, statelessness is associated with displacement through armed conflicts as well natural disasters and hence overlaps with the flow of refugees and Internally Displaced Person (IDPs). With Africa’s colonial heritage, critical issues arose from the succession of states and the determination of national status within emerging and transitional states. Moreover, most African states have different approaches in determining nationality and civil status which inadvertently conflict with the legal and policy frameworks of other states. All the above situations create statelessness.
Statelessness refers to the condition of an individual who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. Statelessness as a legal problem has far reaching political and economic consequences which have attracted rising attention
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And article 6(3) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) guarantees that every child shall has the right to acquire nationality. Enforced together, these provisions guarantee the right to nationality of every child particularly where the child would otherwise be stateless. Also, in the Nubian case, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child held that the obligation of State Parties under the African Children’s Charter in relation to making sure that all children are registered immediately after birth is not only limited to passing laws and policies but also extends to addressing all de facto limitations and obstacles to birth