SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC Nauru TABLE 38 Ratification of International laws relating to statelessness by the countries the Pacific Country Laws Citizenship Law Nauru ✅ ⛔ Stateless 1 ⛔ Stateless 2 ⛔ Refugee ✅ Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention ICCPR ⛔ ICESCR ⛔ ICERD ⛔ CRC CEDAW ✅ ✅ Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness Jus sanguinis provisions The citizenship law of Nauru operates through jus sanguinis provisions with a child born either within or outside of the country to at least one Nauruan citizen will be granted citizenship, as provided by the Citizenship Act of 2017.1613 The Act also includes a provision providing automatic citizenship to “a person born in the Republic on or after 31 January 1968” if they would otherwise be stateless.1614 In 2017, Nauru amended their citizenship laws to remove gender discriminatory provisions that had limited the ability of women to pass on their citizenship to a spouse.1615 There is no definition of statelessness or explicit mention of statelessness in Nauru’s national citizenship legislation. The citizenship law of Nauru operates through jus sanguinis provisions with a child born either within or outside of the country to at least one Nauruan citizen will be granted citizenship, as provided by the Citizenship Act of 2017. Naturalized citizenship An application for citizenship is available to anyone who is 20 years of age and pays the application fee.1616 Decisions on naturalization applications are final and there explicitly no methods of appeals or reviews by the Court.1617 Citizenship by application may be given to a person born in the Republic to parents who are not citizens and the person has resided in the country continuously for 20 years.1618 There is no simplified or expedited procedure for refugees and stateless persons. Citizenship by application may be given to a person born in the Republic to parents who are not citizens and the person has resided in the country continuously for 20 years. Treaty ratification status Population Nauru has acceded to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the CRC, and CEDAW with no reservations. In its 2016 concluding observations, the CRC Committee expressed concerns regarding the inhumane treatment of refugee and asylum-seeking children, including those who are unaccompanied, sent from Australia for offshore processing.1620 While there are some legislative safeguards against statelessness for children in Nauru, UNHCR in 2015 expressed concerns in the recent UPR submission that there are no safeguards for foundling children.1621 Nauru’s national citizenship legislation does not include a provision which grants citizenship to foundlings. UNHCR recommended that Nauru amend legislation to ensure that foundling children in the territory are presumed to be a national of Nauru.1622 In 2021, in the 3rd cycle of UPR, the State was asked to introduce provisions in the Constitution to end “statelessness of abandoned minors and the loss or stripping of nationality”.1623 Reported stateless persons Dual citizenship is recognized in Nauru.1619 142 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Stateless Refugees The entire reported stateless population in Nauru comprises Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.1628 Since 2012, the governments of Australia and Nauru have had a contract allowing for Australia TABLE 39 Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR Country Dual citizenship Data on the reported stateless population in Nauru to UNHCR’s global trends report only began at the beginning of 2021, and it has demonstrated significant fluctuations over the past few years.1624 The number of stateless individuals was reported as 140 at the beginning of 2021 and slightly dropped to 130 by the end of the year.1625 The most striking decrease occurred over the year of 2022, as by the end of 2022, the reported number had plunged to 6 people.1626 Based on the available research, the statelessness of the recorded population on Nauru was caused prior to their arrival in the country.1627 Nauru 2019 (year start)1629 2020 (year end)1630 2021 (year end)1631 2022 (year end)1632 – – 130 6 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022. REPORT 2024 143