Statelessness, the Right to Health, Policy, and Case Law

Abstract

Discriminatory governmental policies (both legislated and informal) often prevent migrants and stateless persons in Africa from accessing adequate healthcare services. Case studies demonstrate the vast inequalities migrants and stateless people face in accessing their healthcare rights, often exacerbated by xenophobic community tensions. The landscape of healthcare is thus already often hostile to the migrant or stateless person, even in the face of healthcare practitioners who may be willing to provide non-discriminatory services. It is against this background that the particular plight of people who are made stateless by inadequate access to (or awareness about) birth registration mechanisms must be considered since the additional layer of inequality does not exist free from more institutional causes of unequal access to healthcare. Statelessness in Africa, when it is caused by inadequate access to (or knowledge about) birth registration mechanisms, is an issue linked to the feminization of poverty, the cycle of poverty, and inequality. Crucial in overcoming this type of statelessness is education, both of a grassroots nature in Africa and also, it will be suggested, in the context of feminist development education in the Global North. Development education has a powerful role to play in furthering global equality and fostering a sense of global citizenship. It has vast potential to explore and amplify feminist and gender empowerment themes in meaningful ways to achieve global solidarity and awareness of gender-based inequalities which negatively impact on human rights.

Security challenges in civil registration: safeguarding vital information in an evolving landscape

“…Civil registration systems must be inclusive and ensure that all individuals, including marginalized populations, can access and benefit from their services. However, certain groups, such as refugees, migrants, or individuals living in remote areas, may face barriers in accessing civil registration services [22]- [24]. Lack of registration can lead to exclusion from basic services and legal protections.…”