Liberia is hypocritical in the fight for Women’s Rights by applying the 1973 Alien and Nationality Law as amended in 1974

By Emmanuel S. Wettee

Liberia produced the late Madam Angie Elizabeth Brooks, the first African female President of the United Nations General Assembly and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female elected President and Nobel Peace Winner.

On July 17, 1984 Liberia became a party to the Convention on The Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979 (CEDAW). By accepting the Convention, Liberia committed itself to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms, including:

• to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women;

• to establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination; and

• to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises.

Paradoxically, Liberia’s current 1973 Alien and Nationality Law as amended in 1974 legally discriminates against women.

For example:

According to ANALYSIS OF THE ALIENS AND NATIONALITY LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (2009, p. 16):

The subchapter on Naturalization or Restoration to Citizenship of Special Categories of Aliens of Chapter 21 presents several concerns regarding gender-based and racial discrimination. Section 21.30 permits the naturalization of female spouses of Liberian citizens who are of Negro descent and otherwise conform to the requirements of Section 21.1. However, the subchapter does not permit naturalization of male spouses or persons not of Negro descent.

The law should be amended to avoid discrimination on the basis of gender, in light of Liberia’s obligations under ICCPR Article 23(4) requiring the state to take appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage. It should be particularly noted that, as a woman does not presently have the right to pass on her citizenship to her children, this effectively denies Liberian citizenship to the children of a union between a Liberian woman and a non-Liberian man, in violation of Liberia’s obligations under CEDAW Article 9(2). This provision may also affect a child’s right to acquire a nationality pursuant to ICCPR Article 24(3).

Section 21.31, which states that a child born outside Liberia to alien parents or to a citizen mother and a non-citizen father may become a citizen of Liberia through the naturalization of the father, also raises concerns. This is incompatible with CEDAW Article 9(2), as discussed above, and also is incompatible with contemporary norms of jus sanguinis, which allow the citizenship to be passed on via either the mother or the father.