On the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, this article examines the concept of solidarity and explains its relevance today, through the lens of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). While stressing the potential as well as the challenges for thorough implementation of the solidarity mechanisms established by the GCR, the article argues that regional organizations may contribute to meeting the GCR objectives. This is particularly urgent for regions that are most affected by migratory flows. In proposing new ways of approaching the concept of solidarity, the article suggests that the African Union strengthen mechanisms other than the physical sharing of refugees, including pooling resources to support states experiencing large influxes of refugees. In addition to a system of financial support for refugee protection, the article also recommends that the European Union ensures safe channels for arrivals and a more robust resettlement programme, to help realize the GCR objectives.
Statelessness is a phenomenon that affects every region and almost every country of the world. However, not very many states have mechanisms in place to identify and prevent it, and protect stateless persons. This article ascertains international norms and best practices regarding the establishment and operation of a Statelessness Determination Procedure (‘SDP’), and to apply these to a future SDP in Nigeria. The requirements for an SDP are drawn from conventions, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees instruments and state practice. In proposing an SDP for Nigeria, in this contribution we strive for the most extensive protection for stateless persons, while taking the particular legal and institutional framework of Nigeria into account. We conclude that Nigeria, and in fact any state, may want to devote particular attention to standards relating to the legality and ‘bindingness’ of the proposed SDP, to procedural access and to procedural guarantees.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.