Title: Congo Brazzaville takes action against statelessness: progress for the rights of vulnerable populations
Introduction :
Congo Brazzaville has just taken an important step in the fight against statelessness by finalizing its accession to two major conventions: the 1954 convention on the status of stateless persons and the 1961 convention on the reduction of cases of statelessness. This decision marks a significant turning point in the protection of the rights of vulnerable populations. In this article, we will explore the issues related to this membership and the concrete implications for the inhabitants of Congo.
1. Understand the phenomenon of statelessness
Statelessness is a situation where a person has no nationality or the inability to prove their citizenship. This leads to many harmful consequences, such as inaccessibility to education, lack of civil and social rights and a feeling of exclusion from society. In Congo Brazzaville, around 200,000 people were identified in 2018 as being at risk of statelessness, mainly due to the lack of birth certificates and the absence of civil registration.
2. Congo Brazzaville’s actions against statelessness
Over the past five years, Congolese authorities have worked in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide birth certificates to more than 30,000 people who were previously without official identity. Of these, around 5,000 were indigenous people living in remote areas of the country. However, this accession to the 1954 and 1961 conventions marks a further step in the fight against statelessness by establishing a legal framework which will guarantee the registration of births throughout the Congolese territory.
3. The implications of joining the conventions
Accession to the 1954 and 1961 conventions will have both legislative and practical consequences. On the legislative level, Congo Brazzaville will have to revise its laws in order to comply with the provisions of the conventions. This will strengthen the rights of vulnerable populations and guarantee their access to nationality and citizenship. On a practical level, the country is committed to putting in place birth registration mechanisms and offering remedial solutions for people already deprived of their legal identity, such as mobile courts.
Conclusion :
Congo Brazzaville’s accession to the 1954 and 1961 conventions on statelessness constitutes significant progress for the protection of the rights of vulnerable populations. By guaranteeing the registration of births throughout the Congolese territory, the country contributes to the fight against exclusion and allows these individuals to access their fundamental rights.. This approach demonstrates Congo Brazzaville’s commitment to putting in place concrete solutions to prevent and reduce statelessness, and paves the way for better social and legal inclusion for all the country’s inhabitants.