SOLVING STATELESSNESS The second area of note is the growing, albeit relatively nascent, school of thought supporting the argument that the right to nondiscrimination protects people from discrimination on grounds of their socio-economic disadvantage.* Stateless people are often among the poorest, most socio-economically marginalised, members of society and this can be as relevant as their statelessness to their lack of access to rights, including the rights to health and education.*® Some adjudicating bodies have shown willingness to recognise that the right to non-discrimination provides this protection. For example, in Alyne da Silva Pimentel v. Brazil, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women noted that a woman who died as a result of poor obstetric care had not only been discriminated against because of her sex and her African descent but also because of her socio-economic background.*’ This development could assist stateless people who endure socio-economic disadvantage. If this approach were more widely accepted, unpacking the extent to whicha person’s statelessness is the direct reason for their lack of enjoyment of their rights and the extent to which their socio-economic status is the cause of this lack of rights would become less necessary. This may be particularly important in cases where a person suffers discrimination as a result of multiple characteristics for example, their race and religion as well as their statelessness.*® 3.2.2 Direct discrimination and causes of statelessness One of the most widely understood elements of the equality framework is the right to be free from direct discrimination. Direct discrimination is less favourable treatment because ofa protected characteristic. It can ‘S ‘6 ‘7 ‘8 For further discussion of this see, Equal Rights Trust, Economic and Social Rights in the Courtroom, 2014, pp. 68-76. Key references include, S. Fredman, “Positive Duties and Socio-Economic Disadvantage: Bringing Disadvantage onto the Equality Agenda”, European Human Rights Law Review 2010, Issue 3, p. 10. See, for example, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, supra n7. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Communication No. 17/2008, Alyne da Silva Pimentel v. Brazil, 25 July 2011, CEDAW/C/49/D/17/2008, para. 7(7). The equality framework recognises that discrimination may occur because of a combination of grounds. Thus, for example, it will be unlawful discrimination to treat a Muslim woman less favourably than you would treat a non-Muslim or a Muslim man where she is being treated less favourably because of the combination of her sex and her religion. 113