4, ADDRESSING STATELESSNESS THROUGH THE RIGHTS TO EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION such contexts, newly independent States (many of which never had a common pre-colonial national identity) have had to deal with borders arbitrarily drawn (often dividing ethnic groups) peoples forcibly migrated (for labour) and the consequences of decades, sometimes centuries, of colonial rule which successfully pitted different ethnic and religious groups against each other, privileging some and marginalising others, as part ofa wider divide and rule policy.”° As contemporary States are responsible for protecting the human rights of all people subject to their jurisdiction, they cannot hide behind the veil of “colonisation” to justify or explain away the discriminatory treatment and disenfranchisement of marginalised groups. However, understanding this historical context and its implications for equality and non-discrimination are an essential pre-requisite to addressing them. Bad administrative practices often enable discrimination and prejudice to be determinative of whether or nota person will be recognised as a citizen in a given country. This is particularly common where individual officers are given broad discretion to determine the outcome of an application for citizenship documentation. In Madagascar for example, Malagasy identity is perceived by many Madagascans as racially determined. Ina recent study, individuals reported that discriminatory attitudes based on race held by local officials influenced the rejection of their applications for citizenship or for a national identity card. For example, those who had names which were “not considered Madagascan - such as Arab, Muslim or Comorian sounding names often encountered problems” and faced officials who felt they were “not really Madagascan”.”! The lack of judicial oversight of these individual decisions means that individuals have little recourse to contest administrative decisions. The cumulative impact of such poor administrative practices can be profound. “In Thailand, Lebanon and Kuwait for instance, statelessness became a feature of the landscape many decades - and several generations - ago, when the nationality laws were first being administered by the State.”** Almost inevitably, it was vulnerable groups who were excluded - those who live in remote 20 21 22 areas, have nomadic lifestyles, are from an ethnic minority, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, supra n7, p. 25. Equal Rights Trust, My Children’s Future, supra n2, pp. 12-13. Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, supra n7, p. 26. 104