for the child's long-term or day-to-day care, welfare and development. Hence,
slman did not have a responsible father at the time of revocation of her
Sudanese nationality. Rather, it was the mother of the complainant who was
discharging her parental responsibility. It has not been contested that the mother
of Ms lman has a Sudanese nationality; and her Sudanese nationality has not
been revoked. From this, it follows that her Sudanese nationality should not
have been revoked since !man's responsible parent (the complainant's mother)
has not been affected by Section 10 (2) of the Nationality Act (Amendment)
2011. Furthermore, it cannot be said that her father is entitled to South
Sudanese nationality de jure or de facto since at the time of his death there was
no concept of South Sudanese nationality and the conferral of the South
Sudanese nationality Started after secession of South Sudan which happened
after the death of Ms !man's father. Moreover, as it has been recorded on his
death certificate !man's father was a Sudanese national and a resident of aiHasaheesa.19 As aforementioned, amendment of nationality law of the
Respondent State took place at least six months after death of the !man's father.
Retroactive application of Section 10(2) of the Nationality Act (Amendment) has
not been provided in the text of the amendments or elsewhere in the nationality
law of the Respondent State. Given such circumstance, it is the Committee's
view that revocation of Sudanese nationality of Ms Iman Benjamin on the ground
that the nationality of the deceased father has been revoked is ill-founded and
absurd.
78.1n the presence of the above facts, revocation of Sudanese nationality of Ms.
lman Hassan Benjamin's amounts to arbitrary deprivation of nationality. In the
Case of Children of Nubian Descent V. the Republic of Kenya, this Committee
noted that 'States Parties need to make sure that all necessary measures are
taken to prevent the child from having no nationality.' 20 In the Case Modise v.
Botswana, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Right held that
failure or refusal of States to grant nationality on grounds that individuals had
obtained another nationality or had accepted it without showing any proof is a
violation of the right to nationality which is basic component of the right to
recognition of legal status guaranteed under Article 5 of the African Charter on
Human and Peoples' Right.21
19
The death certificate of the Complainant's father, Annex 1, p. 4-5.
ACERWC, Communication: No. Com/002/2009, Institute for Human Right an Development in Africa
(IHRDA) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (on behalf of Children of Nubian Descent in Kenya) v.
Kenya para 52.
2 1 African Commission, Modise v. Botswana Communication 97/93, ACHPR 2000, par 88-89.
20
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