other State similar to those they had with Côte d’Ivoire, they have never felt
like citizens of another country other than the former. However, and more
significantly, the authorities of the Respondent State have conceived the
feeling of belonging to Côte d’Ivoire through a vague and inaccurate Code.
Besides, they have entertained this sentiment for decades and have granted
persons concerned both documents attesting to that effect and rights they
have enjoyed over several generations before the outbreak of political
troubles which gave birth to the concept of « ivoirité » in the mid-90s.
Incidentally, the Commission considers that the fact that the Respondent
State has conceived and entertained this sentiment of « living together » to
include the victims, the sentiment and attachment these people have
experienced and the privileges they have enjoyed therefrom crystallized into
a deep sentiment of having become Ivorians. The Commission considers that
this sentiment and its attendant privileges are established rights.
137. All the legal consequences must be associated with these established
rights. Since the reforms of 2013 were less advantageous than those which led
to the benefit of the established rights for the second category of victims, they
cannot be applicable to them. Thus, the Law of 2013 is more restrictive and
demanding, in the sense that, it substitutes an extremely discretionary
naturalization procedure which has demonstrated its limits in the past for a
simplified and fairer acquisition procedure. In short, the Law is explicitly
based on good intentions, but its substance and procedures are inappropriate.
The facts reported by the Complainant clearly prove that this state of affairs
always prevents victims from acquiring nationality. The Commission
considers that the consequences of the established right should lead to the
retroactive application of the enjoyment of the rights, particularly taking both
the era and the time of residence into account. The new reforms do not meet
these demands. Consequently, they do not entirely resolve the issues raised
by this Communication and are not in keeping with the relevant provisions of
Article 5 of the Charter.
138. In short, on the right to nationality as a recognition of legal status, the
Commission observes that the Ivorian nationality Code establishes original
nationality for Ivorians and acquired nationality for foreigners, but fails to
clearly define who an outright Ivorian is, who an Ivorian by origin is and who
a foreigner is. This way, the Code and laws adopted by successive
Governments of the Respondent State have prevented access to nationality
both theoretically and practically. In practice, the Commission concludes that
first generation Dioulas have a historically and legally founded claim to
Ivorian nationality « by origin » or « by attribution ». With regard to second
generation Dioulas and foreigners defined above, they have the same claim
by established rights to nationality by naturalization through the most
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