All children born in The Bahamas to non-Bahamian parents who would otherwise be stateless should be granted Bahamian citizenship at birth or upon application soon after birth, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative to the United States and the Caribbean Vincent Cochetel recommended to the Constitutional Commission.
Under Article 1 of the 1961 Convention of the Reduction of Statelessness, the state is not obliged to grant nationality to all children born in the territory, but requires it if the child would otherwise be stateless.
Babies born in The Bahamas do not automatically become citizens, but the constitution provides that children born in The Bahamas to non-Bahamians could apply for citizenship on their 18th birthday or within the following 12 months.
Cochetel said the constitution should include a safeguard ensuring that renunciation of a previous nationality is only required once the new citizenship is acquired.
He said the lack of provision means that people are required to become stateless in order to even be considered for naturalization, which he said is inconsistent with the standards of the 1961 convention, and can lead to the inability of someone reacquiring their previous nationality if Bahamian nationality is not granted.
He also recommended that The Bahamas join both the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
The Constitutional Commission will hold consultation town hall meetings in Eight Mile Rock, West End and High Rock, Grand Bahama at 7 p.m. on Friday.
