A fight exploded among Members of Parliament of Côte d'Ivoire
as the thorny issue of citizenship is indirectly discussed at the national
Assembly. On 8/19/2013 the government started the process of ratifying two UN
conventions of 1954 and 1961 on statelessness.
The bill authorizing ratification of the two conventions was finally adopted
after 10 hours of hot debate. This is a rare occurrence in most sub-Saharan Africa
countries.
The issues
The issues
MPs were asked to authorize the President of Mr. Ouattara under article 84 of
the constitution to ratify UN conventions of 1954 and 1961 on statelessness
define as “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the
operation of its law. The 1954 Convention deals with the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction
of Statelessness are key legal instruments in the protection of stateless
people around the world and in the prevention and reduction of statelessness. These two key treaties were never ratified by
Côte d'Ivoire. Such step will go a long way to easing the tension and creating
a spirit of reconciliation in the country. The case was presented by the Minister
of justice and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Strangely, the government started by arguing that
there are no stateless persons in Côte d’Ivoire, but insists the risk of statelessness
is very high.They rely on data from the most recent election, about 600 people
in the so-called “gray list” and about 900,000 minors that may become stateless
if the country doesn’t ratify the convention. It is not clear how they came up
with 900,000 minors. From the opposition stand point the key point of contention is the linkage between the two UN conventions and
the citizenship debate. The government insisted that the convention will not lead to citizenship "automatically." It is worth mentioning that the opposition is currently part of a governing coalition including the DPCI of Henri Konan Bedie, the man who instrumentalized the debate over citizenship when he was president of the country to keep Ouattara away from the presidency. Initially, the debate was going to happen within a special committee. Given the interest the conversation was brought to the floor. Some MPs went so far as to request that the question be submitted to the people via a referendum as they clearly fear a backlash when they return to their respective constituency!
Ouattara’s strategy
Ouattara’s hopes to use these 2 key conventions as a major stepping stone to deal with the elephant in the room, the citizenship/nationality question. This is very clear as one follow the argument made by the government (Sorry this video is in French). Essentially the government says “there are NO stateless people on this country but we want the ratify the convention anyway.” The government recommends creating a special committee to monitor the implementation of the law. Why would one monitor a convention that technically “has no use.” For those familiar with the pivotal role of 1961 convention, Ouattara is clearly laying the foundation of a much solid and broader approach to solve the citizenship crisis in his country.
Why are the UN Conventions of 1954 and 1961 important to Côte d’Ivoire and the Ouattara Government?
Under the laws of Côte d'Ivoire, ratified International Treaties and Conventions are above national laws. Consequently, internal laws must not contradict ratified international conventions and treaties. Article 85 of the current constitution of Côte d'Ivoire demands that peace treaties, and other international agreements impacting national laws be ratified through a bill introduce before the parliament. Basically, the president signs the ratification document after receiving an authorization from the parliament that decides by vote. Ouattara has essentially managed to legally bind the country to the requirement of protecting the rights of anybody considered stateless. It would be hard in the future to kick anybody out of the country, or deny that person any right if he/she claims statelessness. The 1954 law was created to solve issues arising from widespread displacement after WWII. The 1961 convention is the leading legal instrument on nationality law giving effect to article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which recognizes that “everyone has the right to a nationality.” The 1961 convention clearly discuss citizenship/nationality issues with specific examples under article 1. In a sense, Ouattara has just accomplished the impossible by making it easier, through a solid legal framework, to leave and work and feel safe in Côte d’Ivoire.
From my view, despite the tension that was visible during the debate, this was an easy ride for the Ouattara team. Those who were previously denied nationality now have the legal framework to have their basic rights protected as listed under article 1 on the 1961 convention notably access to land and a potential path to full citizenship.
Ouattara’s hopes to use these 2 key conventions as a major stepping stone to deal with the elephant in the room, the citizenship/nationality question. This is very clear as one follow the argument made by the government (Sorry this video is in French). Essentially the government says “there are NO stateless people on this country but we want the ratify the convention anyway.” The government recommends creating a special committee to monitor the implementation of the law. Why would one monitor a convention that technically “has no use.” For those familiar with the pivotal role of 1961 convention, Ouattara is clearly laying the foundation of a much solid and broader approach to solve the citizenship crisis in his country.
Why are the UN Conventions of 1954 and 1961 important to Côte d’Ivoire and the Ouattara Government?
Under the laws of Côte d'Ivoire, ratified International Treaties and Conventions are above national laws. Consequently, internal laws must not contradict ratified international conventions and treaties. Article 85 of the current constitution of Côte d'Ivoire demands that peace treaties, and other international agreements impacting national laws be ratified through a bill introduce before the parliament. Basically, the president signs the ratification document after receiving an authorization from the parliament that decides by vote. Ouattara has essentially managed to legally bind the country to the requirement of protecting the rights of anybody considered stateless. It would be hard in the future to kick anybody out of the country, or deny that person any right if he/she claims statelessness. The 1954 law was created to solve issues arising from widespread displacement after WWII. The 1961 convention is the leading legal instrument on nationality law giving effect to article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which recognizes that “everyone has the right to a nationality.” The 1961 convention clearly discuss citizenship/nationality issues with specific examples under article 1. In a sense, Ouattara has just accomplished the impossible by making it easier, through a solid legal framework, to leave and work and feel safe in Côte d’Ivoire.
From my view, despite the tension that was visible during the debate, this was an easy ride for the Ouattara team. Those who were previously denied nationality now have the legal framework to have their basic rights protected as listed under article 1 on the 1961 convention notably access to land and a potential path to full citizenship.
