Civil Society Urges African States to Ratify Nationality Protocol

Dozens of civil society organisations across Africa, including Zambia's Chapter One Foundation, are calling on African governments to act to end statelessness.

In a statement dated 21 October 2026, the signatories said the right to a nationality "is fundamental to human dignity, equality, belonging and the effective enjoyment of human rights." They welcomed the African Union's adoption in February 2024 of the Protocol on the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa, but warned that more than two years later it has not entered into force. Action, they said, "cannot wait."

The statement said people across the continent continue to face statelessness or difficulty proving the nationality they are entitled to, because of factors including colonial legacies, gaps in nationality laws, discrimination, barriers to birth registration, displacement and, increasingly, digital identification systems that can deepen exclusion. Statelessness can limit access to education, health care, jobs and freedom of movement, and can be passed from one generation to the next.

The signatories asked African States to work on five priorities: ratify and implement the Protocol; prevent childhood statelessness and end discrimination in nationality laws; make nationality and identity systems accessible, fair and accountable; strengthen protection and regional solutions for people at high risk, such as refugees, nomadic and cross-border communities; and involve affected communities in decisions.

"The right to a nationality is not simply a question of legal status or documentation," the statement said. "It is a question of dignity, equality, belonging and full participation in society."