The issue of citizenship and statelessness in both The Gambia and Indonesia is
as topical as it is dichotomic and the impact of the latter is of great concern
both at national and international levels. States as legal entities are governed
mainly by state laws in the form of constitutions and legislations. This research
aims at making a comparative study on the right to citizenship in The Gambia
and Indonesia with the aim of minimizing the gaps that promote statelessness.
It also aims at reducing the effects of statelessness in constitutional governance
of these states and finally, analyses how stateless people can be included in
their national human rights frameworks. This research uses empirical and
normative research methods. Interviews and desk reviews are conducted on
The Gambia and Indonesia to present the results of this research. Legislative,
conceptual and comparative approaches are used to support the theoretical
basis of this research. This research finds that, the problems of citizenship and
statelessness still persist due to differences that exist in national laws of various
states. Therefore, dual citizenship is important as it helps in minimizing the gap
between citizenship and statelessness. Also, the rule of law in terms of
protecting individual’s rights and limitation of states’ interference and respect
for human rights is quite limited as regards the right to citizenship. So, the legal
implication of statelessness is that it undermines the rule of law and equality
before the law which are key components of modern constitutionalism. Finally,
to create inclusivity of stateless people in the concept and perception of national
human rights frameworks, there must be urgency not only to sign the relevant
international instruments on citizenship and statelessness but to also ratify and
domesticate them into national legislations thereby making them binding on
The Gambia and Indonesia