WACSOF CALLS ON THE ECOWAS AND THE MEMBER STATES TO INTENSIFY EFFORTS TO ACCELERATE THE ERADICATION OF STATELESSNESS

ABUJA MARCH 29^TH 2023: The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) closely follows the efforts made by the ECOWAS and the West African states to respect their commitments of the Abidjan call and the plan of action of Banjul in order to eradicate statelessness by 2024.

WACSOF wishes to recall that:

1. Statelessness is a situation where human beings are deprived of any document that could identify them as a citizen of a country and that statelessness is a serious violation of human rights.
2. States have the power, the responsibility and the solutions to end statelessness.

WACSOF:

1. Commends ECOWAS, UNHCR and ECCAS for the efforts to develop the regional model law on the protection of stateless persons, statelessness determination procedures (SDP) and the facilitation of their naturalization, aimed at supporting the states to establish or strengthen SDP’s.
2. Wishes to commend Côte d’Ivoire for putting in place and operationalizing the Statelessness Determination Procedures (SDP), a process allowing stateless migrants to access international protection.
3. Commends Senegal and Benin republic for adopting a law on the status of refugees and stateless persons
4. Highlights the efforts of Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Guinea, Niger and other countries for initiating actions with a view to implementing said procedures on SDP

In order to put an end to the suffering of stateless persons, WACSOF calls for action:

1. On the ECOWAS, ECCAS and UNHCR to continue their efforts for the adoption of the model law on the protection of stateless persons
2. On the states to intensify their efforts for the eradication of statelessness
3. On all stakeholders, to involve and support Civil Society in the ongoing efforts for better sensitization, better connexion with the citizen and for rapid results to end the suffering of stateless people

WACSOF reiterates its availability to collaborate in the collective effort to eradicate statelessness.

Contacts: Media@Wacsof-Foscao.Org / +234 810 287 0960

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With more than 1000 Member Organizations, the WEST AFRICAN CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM (WACSOF) is the umbrella network of the Civil Society in West Africa, covering 18 thematic areas, with representation in 15 countries of ECOWAS. WACSOF is the channel for institutionalized dialogue between civil society organizations and ECOWAS. WACSOF builds capacity, advocates, mobilizes civil society, engages in the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies for a prosperous, stable and peaceful Africa. WACSOF is an excellent channel, a one-stop-shop for systematic engagement between institutions and civil society organizations, for impactful results. www.Wacsof-Foscao.Org