1. The Round Table considers that Law 61-415 of 14 December 1961 on Ivorian citizenship, as amended by Law 72-852 of 21 December 1972, which is based on complementarity between jus sanguinis and jus soli and makes broad provision for naturalization by certificate issued by the public authorities, is a generous and well-drafted text.

The Round Table considers on the other hand that there are many difficulties in implementing the law, as a result either of lack of awareness among populations or of administration and police and security force practices which disregard the law and human rights.

The Round Table has observed a degree of legal difficulty in applying Articles 6 and 7 of the Citizenship Code. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that in practice the certificate of citizenship is valid for three months only and that the person holding it must prove his citizenship each time it is renewed by producing a number of documents. However, the Code has heretofore been applied.

Therefore the Government of National Reconciliation will:

a. immediately promote increased recourse to existing naturalization procedures, based on better information and possibly co-operation projects implemented with the support of international development partners;

b. submit, on an exceptional basis and within six months, a naturalization bill aimed at settling in a simple and accessible manner the cases of those persons deemed ineligible and considered to be in the country illegally (in particular cases concerning persons formerly covered by Articles 17 to 23 of Law 61-415 as repealed by Law 72-852 and persons residing in Cote d’lvoire prior to 7 August 1960 who did not exercise their option within the prescribed deadline), and supplement the existing text by including in new Article 12 foreign men married to Ivorian women.

2. To cope with the uncertainty and slow pace of the identification process and with the mistakes and abuses to which security checks can give rise, the Government of National Reconciliation will take further action with respect to registration and identification of individuals, in particular:

a. Suspension of the current identification process pending decrees implementing the Law and timely establishment of a National Identification Commission, headed by a judge and made up of representatives of the political parties, to be charged with supervising and overseeing the National Identification Office.

b. Ensuring strict consistency of the Law on Identification with the Citizenship Code regarding proof of citizenship.

3. The Round Table finds that the foreign nationals residing in large numbers in Cote d’lvoire have made a major contribution to national wealth and helped confer on Cote d’lvoire its special position and responsibility within the sub-region, which has also benefited the countries of origin of these foreign nationals, and considers that the petty annoyances perpetrated by the administration and the police and security forces, which often disregard the law and human rights and which often affect foreign nationals, can be caused by wilful misapplication of identification provisions.

a. The Government of National Reconciliation will therefore immediately eliminate the residence permit requirement under Article 8 paragraph 2 of Law 2002-03 of 3 January 2002 for nationals of ECOWAS countries and will carry out the immigration inspection needed by using means of identification not subject to fraudulent misuse.

b. Moreover the Government of National Reconciliation will consider introducing legislative and regulatory provisions to improve the status of foreign nationals and protect their property and persons.

c. The Round Table also calls on all ECOWAS Member States to ratify, in a timely manner, the existing protocols concerning free circulation of persons and goods, to practice strengthened cooperation in controlling migratory flows, to respect the fundamental rights of immigrants and to diversify areas of development. These actions can be implemented with the support of international development partners.

III- Eligibility to the Presidency of the Republic

2. The Citizenship Code will be amended by adding to the conditions under which Ivorian citizenship can be revoked, under Article 53, the following words: “holding elective office abroad or serving as a member of a foreign government”.