Human Rights and Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality

A/HRC/RES/26/14No 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 2014.

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?

11 topics

Birth Reporting Denaturalization Discrimination Human Rights Human Rights Violations Laws and Regulations Legal Remedies Report Preparation Right to Nationality Rights of the Child Statelessness

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2015.

2015A/HRC/31/29Impact of the arbitrary deprivation of nationality on the enjoyment of the rights of children concerned, and existing laws and practices on accessibility for children to acquire nationality, inter alia, of the country in which they are born, if they otherwise would be stateless report of the Secretary-General

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

What does this mandate say?

23 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 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 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 arbitrary deprivation of nationality;

Stresses that children deprived of nationality and stateless children are at greater risk of particular forms of human rights violations, such as trafficking and other forms of exploitation;

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;

Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 20/5 and the conclusions contained therein;

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;

Emphasizes that where States take any measure that would render individuals stateless by depriving them of nationality, they should endeavour to do so in a limited manner;

Urges States in regulating loss and deprivation of nationality to ensure incorporation in their domestic law of safeguards to prevent statelessness;

Calls upon States to ensure that such safeguards are implemented and access of persons arbitrarily deprived of their nationality to effective remedies, including, but not limited to, restoration of nationality, is provided;

Also calls upon States to consider whether loss or deprivation of nationality is proportionate to the interest to be protected by the loss or deprivation, including in the light of the severe impact of statelessness, and to consider alternative measures that could be adopted;

Urges States to refrain from automatically extending the loss or deprivation of nationality to a person’s dependents;

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;

Also 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 reduction of statelessness and combating arbitrary deprivation of nationality by different United Nations bodies and entities and human rights treaty bodies, and calls on them to follow in this work 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, in consultation with States, United Nations agencies and other relevant stakeholders, to prepare a report on the impact that the arbitrary deprivation of nationality has on the enjoyment of the rights of children concerned, as well as on the existing laws and practices on accessibility for children to acquire nationality, inter alia, of the country in which they are born, if they otherwise would be stateless, and to present it to the Human Rights Council before its thirty-first session;

Decides to continue consideration of this issue in 2016 in accordance with its programme of work.

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What does this mandate say?

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