1. Lack of Legal Safeguards Against Childhood Statelessness
There are currently no legal safeguards for foundlings or children born within the territory of Samoa to stateless and/or foreign citizen parents in Samoa’s citizenship legislation.
2. Citizenship Stripping
Naturalized citizens may have their citizenship cancelled if the person is found to be “disloyal or disaffected towards Samoa”. Naturalized citizens may also be stripped of citizenship if they reside abroad continuously for two years and are “unlikely to reside in Samoa in the future”. Article 19 of the Citizenship Act stipulates a process for appeal of negative decisions on citizenship.
3. Administrative Barriers
Birth registration in Samoa is characterized by the limited scope of relevant national legislation and largely unsuccessful implementation. It was noted in 2016 concluding observations for the CRC that Samoa’s birth registration had improved from 48% in 2009 to 59% in 2014. By 2020, birth registration improved to 67%.
Due to the stigma placed on young and unwed mothers in Samoa, birth registration for children born to mothers in this situation is often done by the grandparents, making the registration for the child inaccurate. The 2016 concluding observations also noted that birth registration in rural areas needs improvement. Despite being responsible for managing the registry of births, staff of the Samoa Bureau of Statistics have stated they do not clearly understand the exact roles and responsibilities of the birth registration process. Gaps in the legislation on birth registration (the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2002) include the lack of a man date to issue a birth certificate at registration, lack of provisions for late registration, insufficient information required for registration, and the requirement of a fee for issuing certificates.
2016 Population Estimates: National Statistical Office of Samoa
4. Statelessness and Climate Change
Limitations of citizens by descent transferring citizenship to children born outside of the territory of Samoa could risk statelessness if migration increases as a result of climate change.
