A situation of statelessness in Kenya Are the laws in place and government mitigating actions, sufficient in protecting the children of Nubian descent

Abstract

The Right to a Nationality is an essential facet in the overall wellbeing of any living being, including children. The Right to a nationality is explicitly provided for under Article 53(1)(a) of the Constitution of Kenya and Section 11 of the Children’s Act. The Children of Nubian Descent in Kenya have however not fully enjoyed the right to nationality as provided under black letter of the Law. They have been denied the right to nationality from birth, forced to undergo a rigorous discriminatory vetting process leading to the denial of other fundamental rights like health and education. Riddled with the aforementioned challenges, the Nubian Community sought intervention of the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The African Committee declared that the Government of Kenya was in contravention of their Right to nationality, further recommending that the Government of Kenya ought to grant the Nubian Community a nationality and incorporate mechanisms to ensure that no child was left behind. Despite the decision by the African Committee, no laws have been put in place to uphold the Right to a nationality for Children of Nubian descent. Therefore, this study is conducted based on the following three objectives; determining the laws in place that relate to the status of statelessness, providing an analysis on the effects the status of statelessness has had on the children of Nubian descent and lastly, to investigate the measures the Government of Kenya has taken to mitigate the situation affecting the children of Nubian descent