Continental Consultation Meeting on the Model Law on the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness

A major continental consultation commenced on Tuesday in Pretoria, convened by the Pan‑African Parliament (PAP) in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This two-day event brings together a wide array of stakeholders from across Africa including organs of the African Union (AU), regional economic and development communities, legal experts specializing in nationality law, and civil society organizations engaged on statelessness issues.

The meeting’s core objective is to engage these derse actors in reviewing and strengthening the draft Model Law on the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness. Participants are invited to examine key legal provisions, share country-level experiences and offer recommendations for improvement, to ensure the Model Law is robust, inclusive and responsive to Africa’s realities.

Opening the session, Hon. Djidda Mamar Mahamat (Fourth Vice-President of PAP) emphasized the importance of harnessing the views of all stakeholders. He underlined that the PAP is honoured to lead this initiative, in partnership with UNHCR, and that this consultation forms a central step toward securing legal recognition of nationality for every person in Africa.

“The adoption of a Model Law on the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness is a critical step towards ensuring that no one is left behind and that every individual in Africa has their right to nationality recognized and protected. These consultations represent a unique opportunity for the Pan-African Parliament to lead this important initiative, supported by key stakeholders across the continent,” he declared.

The consultation further aims to build and strengthen networks and partnerships among AU organs, regional parliaments, civil society, international organizations and legal experts working in the field of nationality and statelessness. This network-building aspect is vital given the multi-layered nature of statelessness in Africa which often intersects with factors such as birth registration gaps, discrimination in nationality laws (including gender discrimination), state succession and migration.

PAP and UNHCR have a well-established collaboration on statelessness: a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in 2019 that commits to preventing new cases of statelessness, protecting stateless populations and integrating parliamentary oversight and legislative reform. Following a series of workshops and consultations in 2024, the current draft of the Model Law is now being refined based on this fresh, continent-wide input.

As the meeting unfolds, delegates will focus on key thematic areas including:

·       Safeguards in nationality laws to prevent statelessness;

·       Birth registration, civil registration and vital statistics as foundational to nationality;

·       Gender equality in nationality law (prevention of discrimination)

·       Harmonization of nationality legislation across African jurisdictions and regional communities

·       Legislative oversight, parliamentary roles, and mechanisms for cooperation among AU, regional bodies and national parliaments.

At the close of the session, Hon. Mahamat reaffirmed that PAP stands ready to drive this legislative initiative and urged participants to engage fully, share concrete national experiences, and identify practical safeguards that can be included in the Model Law.

The two-day consultation featured thematic sub-sessions and breakout discussions clustered around key areas: legal safeguards, registration and documentation, regional harmonization, and parliamentary oversight, culminating in a plenary wrap-up where core recommendations were consolidated and will be submitted to the PAP Secretariat and UNHCR technical team for integration into the next drafting phase of the Model Law.