SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC Papua New Guinea There is no explicit mention of a simplified or expedited procedure for stateless persons to apply for naturalization in the Constitution. housing), or nationals (with respect to elementary education).1693 Reservations made on Articles 26, 31, and 32 allow that Papua New Guinea is not obligated to ensure freedom of movement for refugees, to ensure that refugees illegally residing in the territory are not issued penalties or movement restrictions, or to ensure that refugees are not expelled from the country without securing entry to another country.1694 Further, the reservation on Article 34 stipulates that Papua New Guinea is not obligated to facilitate assimilation and naturalization of refugees.1695 In the 2010 UPR submission for Papua New Guinea, it was recommended that the country remove the reservation on Article 34, provide citizenship to children born to refugees who would otherwise be stateless, and waive the citizenship application fee for refugees to gain PNG citizenship.1696 Laws Dual citizenship Citizenship Law Jus sanguinis provisions The Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (1975) provides that citizenship eligibility operates through a jus sanguinis structure.1681 A child born in the territory to at least one citizen parent will be a citizen according to Article 66(1) of the Constitution.1682 If a child is born outside of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to at least one citizen parent, their birth must be registered to be considered a citizen.1683 Papua New Guinea’s Constitution provides foundlings automatic access to citizenship by descent by deeming them the be the child of a Papua New Guinean citizen.1684 There is no definition of a stateless person included in the Constitution. Further, PNG’s legislation lacks a statelessness determination procedure for identifying stateless persons in the context of migration.1685 For non-refugee stateless persons, there are no existing legislative provisions to provide local residence.1686 The Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (1975) provides that citizenship eligibility operates through a jus sanguinis structure. Papua New Guinea’s Constitution provides foundlings automatic access to citizenship by descent by deeming them the be the child of a Papua New Guinean citizen. Naturalized citizenship There is a naturalization process available for those who wish to become a citizen of Papua New Guinea with a simplified procedure available for those who are Papua New Guinean descendants and who have married a Papua New Guinean spouse.1687 The standard naturalization process requires that the individual have resided in the country for eight years, be of good character, intend to continue residing in the country, speak and understand Pisin or Hiri Motu or a vernacular of the country, among other eligibility requirements.1688 There is no explicit mention of a simplified or expedited procedure for stateless persons to apply for naturalization in the Constitution. 150 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) According to Article 64 of the Constitution, dual citizenship is not recognized, although there is an application process for getting dual citizenship approved by the Minister in special cases.1689 A citizen of Papua New Guinea may not renounce their citizenship unless they already hold citizenship of a different country or are doing so in order to gain citizenship elsewhere.1690 Treaty ratification status While Papua New Guinea has not ratified either the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, it has ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the ICCPR, ICESCR, ICERD, CRC, and CEDAW. In regard to Article 4 of the ICERD, Papua New Guinea made a reservation that the scope of the country’s obligations to Article 4 may not go beyond the Constitution.1691 In the 2010 concluding observations, the CEDAW Committee expressed concerns regarding birth registration.1697 The concerns were that despite the presence of a compulsory birth and marriage registration programme, there was still only a small percentage of the population registering births.1698 The Rapporteur sent Papua New Guinea two reminders to provide followup information regarding these concluding observations, but none were received.1699 Such concerns on strengthening and raising the level of birth registration have been further voiced in the second and third UPR which recommended the complete implementation of the Child Protection Act (2015) to prevent abuse and exploitation of children.1700 Papua New Guinea also made reservations on Articles 17(1), 21, 22(1), 26, 31, 32, and 34 of the 1951 Refugee Convention.1692 Of particular note, the reservations on Article 17(1), 21, and 22(1) entail that Papua New Guinea is not obligated to ensure equal treatment to refugees as foreign nationals, aliens (with respect to TABLE 42 Ratification of International laws relating to statelessness by the countries the Pacific Country Papua New Guinea ✅ ⛔ 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 REPORT 2024 151