TORONTO (HOL) ----The acquisition of a Somali citizenship has never been a hard task for the past two decades since warlords overthrew Somalia’s central government in 1991, throwing away nearly all the stringent laws for which one was required to obtain a Somali citizenship.

Somalia’s state minister for the interior minister Abdirashid Hidig along with MPs and senior officials have held a consultative meeting with the Somali communities in Europe and North America, touring Malmo (Sweden), London (UK), Minneapolis (USA), Toronto, Edmonton and Ottawa (Canada).

Adopted in 1963, Somalia’s citizenship law which was signed by the then Somali president Aden Abdullà Osman, prime minister Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke and interior minister Mohamed Abdinur takes a more hardline position towards granting citizenships to dual citizens, with the exception of persons who have rendered exceptional services to the Somali Republic.

"We cannot go into elections without a citizenship law, who is a citizen, who is foreigner, what are the pertaining legal issues and other important issues like the Somali diaspora who live here; if a Somali citizen is married to a non-Somali citizen, what is the status of such individuals. So this is one the very important law for Somalia,” said state minister Hidig at his consultation meeting with Somali diaspora at Malmo, Sweden

The law has also stipulated that a foreign woman who is not a citizen and marries a Somali citizen shall acquire Somali citizenship, allowing her to retain it even after the dissolution of the marriage, except where she violated the Somali citizenship under the terms of article 10.

"Our plan is to get an input from the Somali diaspora towards the newly proposed citizenship bill,” said Abdirashid Hidig, the Federal Minister of State, Interior and Federalism at a community gathering in Toronto on Monday. "We are seeking your ideas on how to address the issue of the dual citizenship.” He added.

Speaking to HOL, Mr. Hidig said that he is quiet satisfied thecontribution he got from the Somali diaspora.

According to the government officials, the new draft law which is pending for a parliamentary approval is as part of the legal framework within the Vision 2016 strategy.

igasho: hiiraan.com