Social Science Research Council
Who belongs? The politics of citizenship in Africa – Debate Overview
posted by Sebastian KohnMillions of people in Africa are stateless. Some because their births were never recorded, others because they belong to the ‘wrong’ ethnic group. Civil conflicts in Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and numerous other countries have been fuelled if not created by pernicious citizenship policies that sever the link between certain parts of the population and the state. The politics of statelessness and citizenship discrimination in Africa are complex and potentially explosive. This debate explores some of the main themes, including:
A Gender Perspective on Citizenship in Africa (Prof. Amanda Gouws)
So far the debate has focused on citizenship as a status within the borders of certain nation states in Africa and the dire consequences of the inability to obtain such status. Yet, legal rights and identity documents that indicate citizenship is only one dimension of citizenship. If we would apply a gender lens to the debate around citizenship in Africa it exposes inequalities locked into the nature of citizenship (as status) that is linked to the inability to claim rights and participate as agents of citizenship.
Being a Kenyan (L. Muthoni Wanyeki)
The Harmonised Draft Constitution’s provisions on citizenship go a long way to resolving the problems of belonging to and identification with Kenya that pertain today. Through those provisions, Kenyans will finally propel themselves into the 21st century world—which is a world far beyond the limited conception of an ethnically and racially homogenous and patriarchal single-nation state. If it were to be on those provisions alone that the referendum’s outcome was to be determined, the Harmonised Draft Constitution would and should pass.
Citizenship and land: a potent relationship (Dr Lucy Hovil)
Recent research in Burundi on the repatriation of refugees has highlighted the strong link between land and citizenship. The research tracked the experience of refugees returning to southern Burundi and (re)claiming their citizenship. Most had been living in exile in Tanzania – some since the early 1990s, and others since 1972. Some were born in exile and had never been to Burundi before. Others left when they were children. But all of them had a strong notion that returning to Burundi signified an end to exile and an opportunity to finally become citizens of their homeland. And the measure of that renewed bond between citizen and state was their ability to recover land.
Citizenship – The most important right of all (Bronwen Manby)
“Give us our identity cards and we hand over our Kalashnikovs”, said the leader of the rebel forces in Côte d’Ivoire. Those who have never been deprived of official papers may find it hard to imagine the powerlessness that results: powerlessness that can and does lead people to take up arms. Even in the poorest countries, a passport or identity card does not just provide the right to travel, but forms the basis of the right to almost everything else.
The Right to Citizenship under International Law (Julia Harrington)
Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) says “[e]veryone has the right to a nationality” and that “[n]o one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality”. Most articles of the UDHR are considered customary international human rights law. The right to citizenship/nationality is clearly stated. So why is there a global, and particularly African, problem with statelessness?
Africa Needs a Regional Treaty to End Civicide (Chidi Anselm Odinkalu)
There are two ways to kill in human community: you can kill a human being or you can kill the citizen. The first is biological; the second is sociological but no less real. The former is called homicide; the latter is civicide. Both are wrong, unlawful, and criminal. In addition, civicide is an egregious act of abuse of power.
This debate is organized by the Open Society Institute (OSI). In October 2009, one of OSI’s projects on statelessness and citizenship discrimination in Africa resulted in Struggles for Citizenship in Africa, a book published by African Arguments, and Citizenship Law in Africa, a monograph published by OSI. For more information about the books and related projects visit http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/focus/equality_citizenship.
*Sebastian Köhn is program coordinator for equality and citizenship, Open Society Justice Initiative.
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January 11th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Have you considered the transition to independence of Northern Rhodesia? The 1963 African coalition government repudiated an integrated wage structure and offered citizenship to the European community on terms which very few would accept, as it involved transferring to a lower wage scale.
As a result on the stroke of Independence virtually the entire white community were reduced to the status of expatriates, and therefore liable to lose their jobs as soon as Africans could be trained to take over.
With no future in the country the departing Europeans then took as much money as possible with them. They were replaced by expatriates on contract whose main aim was to externalise as much money as possible. I am sure of this, because I was one of them.
By reducing the Europeans to expatriates the Zambian Government also lost its main internal source of capital investment. The Government embarked on a series of development plans and nationalisations which involved heavy public expenditure. The net results of Zambia’s citizenship policies were emigration for the European, poverty and disillusionment for the African, and massive debts for the country.
Richard A A Deveria
Mufulira and Kalulushi, Zambia, 1972 – 81
February 9th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Thank you for your comment, Richard. While we did not look at the Zambian case in any great detail during our research, it appears to have similarities with the situation in Zimbabwe.
Any background materials and readings you can suggest on this topic would be very helpful, as it could be featured on the web.
Please feel free to email me directly on skohn@justiceinitiative.org