Human Rights and Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality

A/HRC/RES/20/5No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2012.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 2008–2016

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/32/5

2016A/HRC/RES/32/5Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationalityLatestCompare with previous version
2014A/HRC/RES/26/14Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationalityCompare with previous version
2012A/HRC/RES/20/5Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationalityCompare with previous version
2010A/HRC/RES/13/2Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationalityCompare with previous version
2009A/HRC/RES/10/13Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationalityCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 topics

Birth Reporting Civil and Political Rights Denaturalization Guidelines Human Rights International Obligations Report Preparation Right to Nationality Statelessness

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2013.

2013A/HRC/25/28Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

19 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms that the right to a nationality of every human person is a fundamental human right enshrined in, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Reiterates that the arbitrary deprivation of nationality, especially on discriminatory grounds such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, is a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Also reiterates that the prevention and reduction of statelessness are primarily the responsibility of States, in appropriate cooperation with the international community;

Calls upon all States to refrain from taking discriminatory measures and from enacting or maintaining legislation that would arbitrarily deprive persons of their nationality on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, especially if such measures and legislation render a person stateless;

Urges all States to adopt and implement nationality legislation with a view to avoiding statelessness, consistent with the principles of international law, in particular by preventing arbitrary deprivation of nationality and statelessness as a result of State succession;

Notes that the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of an individual might be impeded as a result of the arbitrary deprivation of nationality, and that such individuals are placed in a situation of increased vulnerability to human rights violations;

Expresses its concern that persons arbitrarily deprived of nationality may be affected by poverty, social exclusion and limited legal capacity, which have an adverse impact on their enjoyment of relevant civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, in particular in the areas of education, housing, employment, health and social security;

Reaffirms that every child has the right to acquire a nationality, and recognizes the special needs of children for protection against the arbitrary deprivation of nationality;

Urges all States to prevent statelessness through legislative and other measures aimed at ensuring that all children are registered immediately after birth and have the right to acquire a nationality and that individuals do not become stateless thereafter;

Calls upon States to observe minimum procedural standards in order to ensure that decisions concerning the acquisition, deprivation or change of nationality do not contain any element of arbitrariness and are subject to review, in conformity with their international human rights obligations;

Encourages States to grant their nationality to persons who had habitual residence in their territory before it was affected by the succession of States, especially if those persons would otherwise become stateless;

Calls upon States to ensure the access of persons arbitrarily deprived of their nationality to effective remedies, including, but not limited to, the restoration of nationality;

Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 13/2 and the conclusions contained therein;

Also welcomes the intergovernmental event organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on 7 December 2011 marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Convention on the Status of Refugees and the fiftieth anniversary of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and the pledges made by States at the said event in the field of the reduction of statelessness, prevention of statelessness and protection of stateless persons;

Encourages States to consider acceding to the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction on Statelessness, if they have not already done so;

Welcomes the ongoing efforts made in the field of the reduction of statelessness and combating arbitrary deprivation of nationality by different United Nations bodies and entities and human rights treaty bodies, and notes with appreciation in this regard the guidance note of the Secretary-General entitled “The United Nations and Statelessness”, and the guidelines on statelessness issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;

Urges relevant United Nations human rights mechanisms and appropriate treaty bodies and encourages the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to continue to collect information on the issue of human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality from all relevant sources, and to take account of such information, together with any recommendations thereon, in their reports and activities conducted within their respective mandates;

Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a report on legislative and administrative measures that may lead to the deprivation of nationality of individuals or groups of individuals, paying particular attention to situations where persons affected may be left stateless, to collect in this regard information from States, United Nations agencies and other relevant stakeholders and to present the report to the Human Rights Council before its twenty-fifth session;

Decides to continue consideration of this issue in 2014 in accordance with its programme of work.

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What does this mandate say?

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