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SUMMARY:Struggles for Citizenship in Africa - Bronwen Manby (AfriMAP and O
 pen Society Foundation)
DTSTART:20100215T170000Z
DTEND:20100215T183000Z
UID:TALK22112@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sharath Srinivasan
DESCRIPTION:“Give us our identity cards and we hand over our Kalashnikov
 s”\, said the leader of the rebel forces in Côte d’Ivoire. Those who 
 have never been deprived of official papers may find it hard to imagine th
 e powerlessness that results: powerlessness that can and does lead people 
 to take up arms. Even in the poorest countries\, a passport or identity ca
 rd does not just provide the right to travel\, but forms the basis of the 
 right to almost everything else.\n\nHundreds of thousands of people living
  in Africa find themselves non-persons in the only state they have ever kn
 own. Because they are not recognised as citizens\, they cannot get their c
 hildren registered at birth or entered in school or university\; they cann
 ot access state health services\; they cannot obtain travel documents\, or
  employment without a work permit\; and if they leave the country they may
  not be able to return. Most of all\, they cannot vote\, stand for office\
 , or work for state institutions. \n\nUltimately such policies can lead to
  economic and political disaster\, or even war. The conflicts in both Côt
 e d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo have had at their hearts t
 he very right of one part of the national population to share with others 
 on equal terms the rights and duties of citizenship.\n\nBronwen Manby's im
 portant new book\, _Struggles for Citizenship in Africa_ (Zed Books)\, bri
 ngs together new material from across Africa of the most egregious example
 s of citizenship discrimination\, and makes the case for urgent reform of 
 the law.
LOCATION:The Mond Building Seminar Room\, Centre of African Studies
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