Statelessness

In international law, a stateless person is someone who is 'not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law'. Some stateless persons are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many persons who are stateless have never crossed an international border. On 13 November, 2018, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned there are about 12 million stateless people in the world.2 Open border with Schengen Area. In international law, a stateless person is someone who is 'not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law'. Some stateless persons are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many persons who are stateless have never crossed an international border. On 13 November, 2018, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned there are about 12 million stateless people in the world. Conflicting nationality laws are one of many causes of statelessness. Nationality is usually acquired through one of two modes, although many nations recognize both modes today: A person who does not have either parent eligible to pass citizenship by jus sanguinis can be stateless at birth if born in a state which does not recognize jus soli. For instance, a child born outside Canada to two Canadian parents, who were also born outside Canada to Canadian parents, would not be a Canadian citizen, since jus sanguinis is only recognized for the first generation in Canada. If the child were born in India and neither parent had Indian citizenship, then the child would be stateless since India only confers citizenship to children born to at least one Indian parent. Although many states allow the acquisition of nationality through parental descent irrespective of where the child is born, some do not allow female citizens to confer nationality to their children. There are 27 countries in the world that do not grant equal rights to women in passing on their nationality. This can result in statelessness when the father is stateless, unknown, or otherwise unable to confer nationality. There have been recent changes in favor of gender neutrality in nationality laws, including reform processes in Algeria, Morocco, and Senegal that may inform change elsewhere. For example, Algeria amended its nationality code to repeal the limitations on mothers’ ability to confer nationality on their children, replacing them with an overarching provision granting Algerian nationality to all children born in or outside Algeria to an Algerian mother or father. Moreover, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women prohibits sex-based discrimination in the conferral of nationality. An important measure to prevent statelessness at birth provides nationality to children born in a territory who would otherwise be stateless. This norm is stipulated in the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness; appears in several regional human rights treaties, including the American Convention on Human Rights, the European Convention on Nationality, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; and is implicit in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In most large-scale statelessness situations, statelessness is a result of discrimination. Many states define their body of citizens based on ethnicity, leading to the exclusion of large groups. This violates international laws against discrimination. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated on 1 October 2014 that the 'deprivation of citizenship on the basis of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin is a breach of States’ obligations to ensure non-discriminatory enjoyment of the right to nationality'. In some cases, statelessness is a consequence of state succession. Some people become stateless when their state of nationality ceases to exist, or when the territory on which they live comes under the control of another state. This was the case when the Soviet Union disintegrated, and also in the cases of Yugoslavia and Ethiopia. People may also become stateless as a result of administrative and practical problems, especially when they are from a group whose nationality is questioned. Individuals might be entitled to citizenship but unable to undertake the necessary procedural steps. They may be required to pay excessive fees for documentation proving nationality, to provide documentation that is not available to them, or to meet unrealistic deadlines; or they may face geographic or literacy barriers. In disruptive conflict or post-conflict situations, many people find that difficulties in completing simple administrative procedures are exacerbated. Such obstacles may affect the ability of individuals to complete procedures such as birth registration, fundamental to the prevention of statelessness in children. Whilst birth registration alone does not confer citizenship on a child, the documentation of place of birth and parentage is instrumental in proving the link between an individual and a state for the acquisition of nationality. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated in 2013 that 230 million children under the age of 5 have not been registered.