To better understand the cross-border movements of people of Somali ethnic origin and their status as related to the citizenship regulations of Ethiopia and Somalia, some background information may prove helpful.

Ethiopia is a multi-national state with over 70 ethnic groups, which are distinguished by separate origins, physical appearance, culture, religions and languages. One of these ethnic groups is the Somali, who constitute about six percent of Ethiopia's total population, and generally live in the Ogaden region in southeastern part of the country. [ George Thomas Kurian, Encyclopedia of the Third World (New York: Facts on File Publications, 1987), p. 666.]

According to the Somali government's irredentist claims, the Somali-inhabited Ogaden region belonged to the historic Somali nation, before being colonized by Ethiopia during the colonial division of Africa in the late 19th century. Ethiopia, on the other hand, takes the position that the Ogaden is an integral part of its territory and, consequently, regards Somali challenges as acts of aggression against Ethiopia's integrity. [Alan J. Day, ed., Border and Territorial Disputes (London: Longman Group UK Ltd., 1987), pp. 128-129.] Thus, while the people inhabiting the Ogaden are predominantly of ethnic Somali origin and have deep-rooted social, cultural and economic ties with Somalia, their land is legally part of Ethiopia. The emerging general picture was best summarized by the Horn of Africa journal: "sandwiched between two competing claimants to the barren, drought-stricken region, the mainly nomadic population has been all but decimated by the rivalry over who will control them and their land." [ "Ogaden: The Land But Not the People", Horn of Africa, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1981, p. 42.]

The ethnic Somalis living in the arid semi-desert of the Ogaden have developed over the centuries a way of life peculiarly suited to their demanding environment: a wary cycle of seasonal migrations between campsites, water wells, and grazing grounds. Migration being a way of life for Somali nomads in Ethiopia and Somalia alike, the result is a constant and substantial movement back and forth across the Ethiopia-Somalia frontiers, posing political problems between the two countries.

Neither the Constitutions of Ethiopia or Somalia afford citizens the right of freedom of movement, nor do they specifically provide for citizens the right to leave and to return to the country. In both Ethiopia and Somalia, travel abroad by citizens is controlled by the respective governments through the issuance of passports and mandatory exist visas. [U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989), pp. 116 and 315.] In the case of Ethiopia, emigration is heavily restricted, except in special cases such as marriage to, or adoption by, a foreign national. Leaving Ethiopia illegally is a serious offence reportedly punishable by five to 25 years' imprisonment or, in exceptional cases, by death. [ Kurian, p. 665.]

In his study, The Right to Leave and Return in International Law and Practice, Hurst Hannum observed that the major issue of trans-frontier movements in Africa is not formal emigration or travel, but rather the mass exoduses and influxes of refugees and others displaced by civil strife, famine, or other events beyond their control. [ Hurst Hannum, The Right to Leave and Return in International Law and Practice (Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1987), p. 109.] This has been the case in Ethiopia and Somalia in recent years: during and following the 1977-78 Ogaden war, several hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians (mostly ethnic Somalis from the Ogaden) fled to Somalia; the May 1988 civil war in northern Somalia resulted in the influx of hundreds of thousands of Somalis into Ethiopia.

Under the terms of the Ethiopian Constitution of February 1987, "any person with both or one parent of Ethiopian citizenship is an Ethiopian". [ Albert P. Blaustein and Gisbert H. Flanz, eds., Constitutions of the Countries of the World: The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1988), Part 2, Chapter 6, Article 31.] Particulars relating to citizenship and the conditions and procedures for the acquisition of Ethiopian citizenship by citizens of other countries are not specified in the Constitution, but are said to be determined by law. IRBDC is unable to locate this information at this time.

According to the attached Somali Citizenship Law (Law No. 28 of 22 December 1962), Somali citizenship may be acquired by operation of law or by grant. Somali citizenship by operation of law may be acquired by any person:

a) whose father is a Somali citizen;

b) who is residing in the territory of the Somali Republic or beyond the boundaries of the Republic but belonging by origin, language, or tradition to the Somali nation, and declares to renounce any status as citizen or subject of a foreign country.

The general conditions for acquiring Somali citizenship by grant are establishing residence in the territory of the Somali Republic for a period of seven years, good civil and moral conduct, and a declaration that the person concerned is willing to renounce any status as citizen or subject of a foreign country. The conditions for renunciation and for recovery of Somali citizenship acquired by operation of law or by grant are outlined in Articles 10 and 12 of the Citizenship Law.
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