withdrawn from. According to the Respondent State, a person who acquires
South Sudanese nationality is onewho fulfilled the conditions to vote in the
Referendum on self-determination of South Sudan in accordance with sections
25 and 26 of South Sudan Referendum Act of 2009. Therefore, it is the view of
the Respondent State that there is no ambiguity or vagueness affecting the 1994
Nationality Act in respect with identifying a person who, de jure or de facto,
acquires the nationality of South Sudan. Particularly, the Respondent State
argued that the constitutional right to citizenship, as it is prescribed under article
7 of the 2005 Interim Constitution, each person born of Sudanese father or
mother has the right to enjoy Sudanese citizenship. Besides, the Interim
Constitution states that it is also valid to permit any Sudanese to acquire the
nationality of another country in accordance with the provisions of the applicable
law, and this, as per the Respondent State, is consistent with the international
principle of dual nationality.
70.With regard to children, the Respondent State particularly submitted that
according article 15 of the 1994 Nationality Act states that 'if Sudanese
nationality is revoked from the responsible father of a minor under the provisions
of section 10, the minor shall not lose his Sudanese nationality save if he is or
was the national of any country other than Sudan according to the laws of that
country'. Article 4(3) of the 1994 Nationality Act increases this restriction in
paragraph 3 of the article, which states that 'a person born to a mother who is
Sudanese by birth shall be entitled to Sudanese Nationality by birth whenever he
applies for it'. Hence it is the view of the Respondent State that Sudanese
Nationality Laws are in line with the requirements of the African Children's
Charter, and other international instruments as they provide mechanisms to
prevent childhood statelessness. In fact, the Respondent State submitted that
the Republic of the Sudan decided to amend the 1994 Nationality Act to
recognize and address the effects of the secession of South Sudan and the
resulting statelessness.
71. With regard to Ms lman, the Respondent State submitted that the Republic of
the Sudan has not violated Ms lman Benjamin's right to acquire a nationality, as
alleged by the Complainants. The Respondent State presented two different
arguments to prove that Ms lman is not stateless. On the one hand, the
Respondent State submitted that Ms lman Benjamin is entitled to Sudanese
nationality through application as she was born to a Sudanese mother in
accordance with article 4(3) of the 1994 Nationality Act. She is not considered as
Sudanese due to her failure to exhaustively pursue the required administrative
procedures which are available at different levels in the Republic of the Sudan.
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