Human Rights and Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality

A/HRC/RES/32/5View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2016.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 2008–2016

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).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

10 topics

Birth Reporting Denaturalization Discrimination Human Rights Human Rights Violations International Cooperation Legal Remedies Right to Nationality Rights of the Child Statelessness

What does this mandate say?

26 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;

Stresses 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, including disability, is a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Emphasizes that the statelessness of a person resulting from the arbitrary deprivation of his or her nationality cannot be invoked by States as a justification for the denial of other human rights;

Calls upon 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, including disability, especially if such measures and legislation render a person stateless;

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

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;

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 arbitrary deprivation of nationality;

Also reaffirms that the primary purpose of protecting the right of every child to acquire a nationality is to prevent a child from being afforded less protection because he or she is stateless;

Reiterates that the right to identity is intimately linked to the right of nationality;

Urges States to register every child’s birth, regardless of the child’s or the child’s parents’ nationality, statelessness or legal status, and to ensure that proof of identity is available to all children;

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;

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;

Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General submitted to the Human Rights Council in accordance with its resolution 26/14, and the conclusions and recommendations contained therein;

Stresses that the arbitrary deprivation of nationality places children in a situation of increased vulnerability to human rights violations;

Urges States to ensure that children deprived of nationality enjoy fully their human rights, including the rights to an identity, education, health, an adequate standard of living, family life and freedom of movement;

Also urges States to ensure that children deprived of nationality are protected at all times against all human rights violations, including exploitation, trafficking, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the arbitrary deprivation of liberty;

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;

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;

Encourages States to cooperate fully with such international initiatives as the global #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness, and to respect their commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including goal 16, target 9, which relates to the provision of legal identity for all, including birth registration;

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

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