COTE D’IVOIRE
Annick is around 13 years old and stateless, playing with her friend Fatou. © UNHCR / Arnaud Froger
Côte d’Ivoire hosts the largest stateless population in Africa. Statelessness in Côte d’Ivoire is linked to the country’s weak civil status system and long history of immigration, both before and after its independence.
Descendants of immigrants have often been viewed as foreigners, even when they have qualified for nationality under the nationality law. In addition, the current nationality law lacks a safeguard to grant Ivorian nationality to abandoned children whose parents cannot be identified (foundlings). The absence of this safeguard combined with the country’s history of migration and civil war has left hundreds of thousands of children stateless.
Annick has no idea where her parents are; she lost all contact with them when she was very young. Because of this she has no documents that confirm where she is from and where she was born. She does not have a nationality and is, as a result, stateless. ©UNHCR / Arnaud Froger
Annick loves going to school but without nationality papers, she will soon have no choice but to leave. She would like to go to middle school, continue her studies in high school or receive an official diploma. She would like to travel freely within the county and abroad. Without a nationality, however, her aspirations remain a pipedream. ©UNHCR / Arnaud Froger