Without recognised citizenship, people in West Africa live in a legal limbo that can make it challenging to access education, healthcare, employment and travel documents. In Côte d’Ivoire, estimates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) give an indication of the scale of the problem. In light of this reality, civil registration, nationality laws and regional cooperation are essential to prevent statelessness and protect those people affected.
Being born, growing up, working and starting a family without being recognised as a citizen by any country: this situation has a specific name – statelessness. It describes people whom no State considers to hold its nationality under its jurisdiction.
The term is defined by the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. It does not just mean that a person does not have a national identity card or a birth certificate. A person may be a citizen of a country without possessing documents to prove it. Conversely, a stateless person is not recognised as a citizen by any State.
This is a fundamental distinction for understanding the phenomenon in West Africa, a region shaped by long-standing population movements, borders derived from colonial history and family connections that span national borders.
According to the UNHCR, the reasons for statelessness may include, amongst other things, shortcomings in civil registration systems, problems in proving nationality, restrictive or discriminatory legal provisions and historical migration patterns. Such factors may combine to make it extremely difficult – often for several generations – for a person to be granted legal recognition.
In Côte d’Ivoire, More Than 900,000 People Concerned, UNHCR Finds
The extent of the problem appears particularly acute in Cote d’Ivoire. In its 2024 Report on Statelessness, published in August 2025, UNHCR finds that more than 900,000 persons in the country are stateless or at risk of statelessness.
The UNHCR data portal on statelessness in West and Central Africa puts the figure for Cote d’Ivoire at an estimated 930,958 people who are stateless or of undetermined nationality as at 31 May 2026. This finding should be interpreted with precaution: it corresponds to the statistical category presented by the portal and does not necessarily mean that each person concerned has been the subject of an individual decision legally establishing their statelessness.
The UNHCR report also stresses that the issue concerns Benin, Ghana, Liberia and Togo, which are covered by the same multi-country office. However, the situations and available data differ from one country to another. It would therefore be misleading to present the Ivorian estimate as a figure representative of the entire West African region.
Behind these figures are challenges that are both administrative and human: how can one prove one’s nationality when documents are missing, registers are inadequate, or the authorities are unable to establish the necessary legal connections?
When a Lack of Documents Undermines Access to Rights
The effects of statelessness can affect a person throughout their life. Without recognised evidence of their identity or nationality, they may find it difficult to enrol at school, take certain exams, access formal employment, open a bank account or apply for a passport.
Children are particularly vulnerable when their birth is not registered or their parents’ nationality cannot be verified. The failure to provide documentation can complicate the process of determining their nationality and, in some circumstances, contribute to perpetuating statelessness from one generation to the next.
UNICEF reminds us that birth registration is an essential step in recognising a child’s legal identity. According to its analysis of birth registration in West and Central Africa, the region suffers from significant shortcomings: only 45 per cent of children under the age of five were registered, according to data presented by the organisation on this page.
It is important, however, not to mistake the two circumstances. A child whose birth has not been registered is not automatically stateless. However, the absence of a birth certificate can make it more difficult to prove their parentage, place of birth and any entitlement to nationality. Birth registration is therefore an vital tool for prevention, though it does not in itself provide a solution to all cases of statelessness.
Regional Mobility: Borders That Sometimes Lead to Difficulties in Recognition
Statelessness is also rooted in the history of mobility in West Africa. For generations, families have lived on either side of borders, moving to work, trade, marry or join loved ones. In some cases, the transfer of documents and the administrative recognition of family connections have not kept pace with this mobility.
A person born in one country to parents from another state may, for instance, face problems if they do not have the documents required to prove their parentage or if the relevant authorities do not clearly recognise their right to a citizenship. This type of situation does not automatically lead to statelessness: it all depends on the applicable laws, the available evidence and how the authorities deal with them.
For those affected, this lack of certainty can also restrict their freedom of movement. Without officially recognised documents, crossing a border, settling administrative matters or proving one’s identity can become more challenging. Nevertheless, we must avoid equating statelessness with irregular migration: a stateless person may have lived their entire life in the country where they were born, whilst a migrant may well hold a valid nationality.
The relationship between statelessness and mobility must therefore be addressed with discernment. The lack of nationality may be a factor leading to exclusion or displacement in certain circumstances, but this does not mean that all stateless people choose to migrate, nor that migration necessarily leads to statelessness.
Regional Commitments That Must Be Translated into Results
West African states have recognised the seriousness of the issue. On 25 February 2015, the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted the Abidjan Declaration on the Prevention, Reduction and Elimination of Statelessness in West Africa. This declaration signalled a regional commitment to ensuring access to citizenship and preventing new cases of statelessness.
At the international level, two instruments are particularly noteworthy. The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines the legal status of stateless persons and provides safeguards for their rights. The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness aims to prevent statelessness, in particular through provisions in national nationality laws.
UNHCR reports in its 2024 regional report that the countries covered by its cluster office (Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia and Togo) have appointed government focal points as part of ECOWAS’s efforts. The report also states that all of these countries, with the exception of Ghana – where the process was still underway at the time of publication – had ratified the United Nations conventions on statelessness.
These commitments provide a framework, but their success depends on their implementation: streamlined access to civil registration, user-friendly procedures for establishing nationality, the processing of historical cases, cooperation between administrative authorities and protection for those who cannot immediately prove their status.
Preventing Statelessness and Ensuring No One Is Left Without Nationality
Prevention begins with practical measures: facilitating the registration of births, making civil registration procedures accessible in rural and border areas, raising awareness amongst the public about their rights and allowing undocumented people to have their cases reviewed.
States can also improve their mechanisms for detecting statelessness and ensure that nationality laws include appropriate protections, particularly for children who might otherwise be at risk of being stateless. Those affected must be able to provide documentation, receive a reasoned decision and challenge a refusal in accordance with the applicable procedures.
For journalists, the challenge is to shed light on this reality without reducing people to their administrative status. An in-depth investigation could give a voice to those affected, civil registry officials, legal experts, rights organisations and the authorities in charge of nationality issues. It should also look at the options already in place, the time taken to process cases and the hurdles that remain.
Ultimately, statelessness serves as a reminder that nationality is not merely a document or a sign of belonging. It often determines whether a person can have their rights recognised and enjoy full participation in community life. In West Africa, therefore, preventing statelessness means bringing administrative systems closer to the people, strengthening cooperation between states and ensuring that no child grows up in doubt about their right to belong to a country.
