ECOWAS MEMBERS ADOPT A DECLARATION ON ERADICATION OF STATELESSNESS IN WEST AFRICA [Economic Community of West African States]
ABIDJAN, CÔTE D’IVOIRE, 25 February 2015

JOINT UNHCR / ECOWAS PRESS RELEASE
Following two days of high level consultations on 23-24 February, Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted today a Declaration on the prevention, reduction and elimination of statelessness in West Africa at a joint UNHCR/ECOWAS Ministerial Conference hosted by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire.

At least 750,000 people are stateless or at risk of statelessness in the region and, as such, are often subject to life in limbo, with limited access to education, healthcare, and employment. They are also vulnerable to discrimination and abuse as they have no legal existence and are not recognized in the eyes of the law.

The Declaration contains 25 commitments and highlights in particular the necessity for States in the ECOWAS region to first obtain concrete information on the causes of statelessness and the number and profile of stateless persons in the region. It also stresses that every child should acquire a nationality at birth and that all foundlings should be considered nationals of the State in which they are found. It also focuses on the need to ensure that men and women have equal rights to acquire, change and retain their nationality and confer nationality to their children.

The text also stresses the importance of protecting stateless persons by restoring their dignity and, in particular, by providing them with a legal identity and documentation. It invites Member States who have not yet done so to accede, as soon as possible, to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness…

:: Ministerial Conference on Statelessness in the ECOWAS region
Full Meeting Documentation: http://www.unhcr.org/54ef26126.html

:: Abidjan declaration of Ministers of ECOWAS Member states on eradication of statelessness: Ministerial Conference on Statelessness in the ECOWAS region
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 25 February 2015 :: 10 pages
http://www.unhcr.org/54ef26126.html