Churches Have a Responsibility to Act Against Statelessness

Churches and faith-based organizations have a moral responsibility and an important role to play in preventing and reducing statelessness. Drawing on their moral voice, community presence, and long-standing commitment to social justice, churches are well placed to support practical actions that protect vulnerable people and help ensure every person has a nationality.

In Liberia, Church Aid, Inc., together with its partners, has demonstrated this potential in practice. Through community-based initiatives to support birth registration, more than 20,000 children were able to obtain birth certificates, reducing their risk of statelessness and exclusion.

For many churches, engagement on statelessness is grounded in scripture and faith. The Bible reminds us not to oppress the foreigner, because we ourselves know what it means to be vulnerable. It calls believers to show hospitality to strangers and to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. When people are hurting, the church has a responsibility to bring relief. A Christianity that ignores injustice and suffering does not reflect the character or mission of Christ.

Stateless persons are no exception.

Statelessness and Its Human Impact

Stateless people are individuals who are not recognized as citizens by any country under the operation of its laws. Without nationality, people often lack access to education, healthcare, employment, and freedom of movement. They may be arrested or detained for immigration‑related offences simply because they have no valid identity documents. Their children are frequently treated as foreigners or illegal aliens, even in the countries where they were born or have lived all their lives. Stateless people also lack political rights, including the right to vote.

The human cost of statelessness becomes particularly visible in situations of displacement and conflict. During Côte d’Ivoire’s second civil war (2010–2011), many people fled across borders in search of safety. In one such case, a man fled from Côte d’Ivoire and sought refuge in Liberia. When efforts were later made to pursue a durable solution, he could not be resettled because he had no proof of nationality. His parents, who had moved to Côte d’Ivoire when he was a child, had passed away without leaving documentation establishing his citizenship. No country recognized him as a national. Attempts were made to relocate him to a southern African country, where his parents were believed to have originated, but he was rejected. This case illustrates the deep protection gaps faced by stateless persons, particularly where national legal frameworks do not explicitly address statelessness.

The Liberian Refugee Act of 1993 does not incorporate explicit protection for stateless persons. At the time it was adopted, statelessness was not as pronounced or widely recognized as it is today. Current discussions on legal reform therefore present an important opportunity to address this gap and strengthen protection for stateless people.

Role of Churches

Churches in Liberia have acted primarily to prevent statelessness, especially through birth registration. Church Aid, Inc. has organized community meetings, awareness programmes, and the training of local leaders  – including school teachers, health workers, and young people – as volunteer field registrars. In collaboration with Liberia’s Ministry of Health, more than 500 volunteer field registrars have been trained and deployed across the country

These volunteers use Ministry of Health birth registration forms to go from house to house registering children under the age of 12 who were previously unregistered. The completed forms are submitted through Church Aid, Inc. to the relevant government authorities for collation and printing of birth certificates. This work demonstrates how churches can reach people who state systems may not easily reach, particularly in remote or underserved communities.

Church advocacy efforts have also focused on nationality laws that can lead to statelessness, including gender‑discriminatory provisions. Laws that prevent children born to Liberian mothers and non‑Liberian fathers – especially those born abroad – from being recognized as Liberian citizens expose families to long‑term exclusion and risk of statelessness.

Churches can play a significant role in ending statelessness through a range of practical actions:

1. Raising awareness: At local, national, and regional levels, churches can help raise awareness about the causes, risks, and prevention of statelessness.
2. Promoting birth registration: Churches can promote birth registration and certification through community events, workshops, general assemblies, media outreach, and regular church announcements.
3. Advocating against discriminatory laws: Churches are well positioned to advocate for the repeal or reform of nationality laws that discriminate against stateless persons or create statelessness, particularly given their reach and moral influence in communities.
4. Supporting birth registration of newborns: Churches can partner with local and national authorities to support the registration of newborn babies and older children without birth certificates by providing resources, training, and community mobilization.
5. Empowering religious leaders: Workshops and training programmes can empower religious leaders to understand statelessness and engage actively in prevention, protection, and advocacy efforts.
6. Promoting gender equality: Churches and religious organizations can support gender‑equal nationality laws that allow women and men to confer nationality equally to their children.
7. Community engagement and assistance: Churches can provide practical support to stateless persons and those at risk, including food, shelter, referrals, and community‑based assistance.
8. Participating in broader campaigns: Joining national, regional, and international campaigns – including those led by the Global Alliance to End Statelessness – working in solidarity with governments, civil society, and international partners.

These actions give me hope that statelessness can be addressed and that stateless persons can be relieved of the daily hurdles they face. When churches act in partnership with others, they can help ensure that every person is recognized, protected, and able to belong.

Author: Bishop Kortu K. Brown,  the Apostolic Pentecostal Church and Church Aid, Inc., Liberia. He is the immediate past President of the Liberia Council of Churches (2017–2022), a former President of the Inter‑Religious Council of Liberia, and former head of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) Liberia Chapter.