international and regional legal instruments.98 There are compelling arguments to suggest that the obligation to prevent and reduce statelessness is part of customary international law and hence, it applies to India despite it not being party to the two conventions.99 It is important to note that even though the 1961 Convention allows for the deprivation of nationality in very specific and limited cases, international human rights law has evidently superseded these limits of the Convention by reiterating that any such restrictions must be seen as an exception to the principle of equality, and consequently, ‘must be construed so as to avoid undermining the basic prohibition of discrimination’.100 Regional courts across the world have intervened and reiterated the state’s duty to prevent and reduce statelessness, even in the absence of direct provisions on statelessness. In Anudo Ochieng Anudo, the Tanzanian-born applicant was abruptly stripped of his Tanzanian passport and citizenship, detained, and escorted to the Kenyan border. Upon Kenya’s refusal to admit him, he became confined to the ‘no man’s land’ between the two nations. The ACtHR – while acknowledging that there is no general right to nationality listed in the ICCPR, nor in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights – utilised the customary international status of the UDHR and Article 15 thereof to place a limit on Tanzania’s sovereign power in nationality matters. Despite Tanzania being a non-signatory to the 1954 and 1961 Conventions, the Court held that Tanzania had ‘failed to take the necessary measures to prevent the applicant from being in a situation of statelessness’ and thus, the applicant’s deprivation of 98 International legal instruments include the UDHR (Article 15), ICCPR (Article 24), the 1954 Convention, the 1961 Convention, CEDAW (Article 9), ICERD (Article 5), the CRC (Article 7), and CNMW. Regional legal instruments like the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) (Article 20) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) (Article 6) also emphasize this duty of states. 99 Council of Europe, ‘Explanatory Report to the European Convention on Nationality’ (n 97). See also UNHCR, ‘Submission by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Case of Kuric and Others v Slovenia (No 26828/06)’ (8 June 2011) <https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4df9cd8c2. pdf> accessed 12 April 2020. 100 UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ‘General Recommendation XXX on Discrimination against Non-Citizens’ (2002) 2 <https://www.refworld.org/docid/45139e084.html> accessed 20 July 2020. chapter i • status 67 SECTION I.B.1