Congo Brazzaville takes an important step in its fight against statelessness. The country has just finalized its accession to two international conventions: the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
Statelessness is when a person cannot prove that they are a national of a country, preventing them from accessing their basic rights such as nationality, citizenship or even access to education and voting. In Congo, nearly 200,000 people are considered at risk of statelessness, including children and adults who do not have birth certificates and are not registered in civil registers.
Over the past five years, the Congolese authorities, supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have issued more than 30,000 birth certificates to people who were unable to prove their citizenship. Among them are around 5,000 indigenous people living in remote and difficult-to-access regions. This work of issuing birth certificates is crucial to allow these individuals to benefit from their rights and their social integration.
Congo’s accession to the 1954 and 1961 conventions constitutes a decisive step in the fight against statelessness. It will allow the country to revise its legislation in accordance with these international texts. In addition, this commits Congo to guarantee and facilitate the registration of all births on its territory and to provide remedial solutions for those who need them, such as mobile courts.
To better understand the situation of statelessness in Congo Brazzaville, UNHCR participated in the preparation of the 2023 census in order to know the profile and number of individuals concerned.
This progress is an important step towards protecting the rights of people experiencing statelessness in Congo Brazzaville. It will allow for better social inclusion and recognition of their identity and citizenship, essential in building a fair and just society.