SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC Persons at risk of statelessness Many Pacific Island States are at risk of “disappearing” or becoming uninhabitable due to climate-induced sea level rises. Extensive research has been undertaken into the impacts of climate change on statehood, citizenship and the risk of statelessness.1324 While communities have internally (and in some instances, externally)1325 relocated due to these impacts the fundamental questions regarding loss of nationality and statehood remain largely hypothetical. In Australia, Indigenous and Aboriginal communities are also at risk of statelessness due to marginalization, lack of access to social services, and a lower birth registration rate.1326 Undetermined nationalities Kiribati and Vanuatu are the only States in the Pacific to have publicly available census data that captures persons of “undetermined” or “unknown” nationality, with the 2020 Censuses of each country reporting eight and 27 persons respectively.1327 As many as 10-15,000 West Papuan refugees have lived in Papua New Guinea since the last three decades, who due to absence from West Papua have lost their Indonesian citizenship and have been unable to access Papua New Guinean citizenship through naturalization, despite possessing the right to under the law of Papua New Guinea.1328 Stateless Refugees All the reported stateless population in the Pacific are stateless refugees, asylum seekers or, in the case of Australia, persons in immigration detention. The populations of both Nauru and Papua New Guinea have consisted entirely of Rohingya refugees.1329 While many Pacific Island States are not large refugee-receiving countries 118 SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC and have been frequently found reporting no or single figure refugee populations, New Zealand reported 2,364 refugees and asylum seekers to UNHCR in 2021.1330 It is possible that some of this refugee population is stateless,1331 however no mapping or statistics are available to confirm this. able to acquire Kiribati citizenship. Unlike other Pacific Island States (such as Tonga), Kiribati has a small overseas population, with approximately 5,000 I-Kiribati’s living in New Zealand and Australia.1338 There are no reliable statistics on the number of persons this provision has affected. Since 2013, Australia has begun utilizing ‘regional processing centres’ in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, to which Australia has forcibly transferred more than 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers that arrived in Australia by boat1332, a process which has been condemned by UN bodies, NGOs, and refugee advocates.1333 The last refugee on Nauru as a part of this policy was evacuated in June of 2023.1334 At least 14 people died as a result of this offshore processing system, half of which were from suicide.1335 While Solomon Islands did amend some of the gender discriminatory provisions previously included in its legislation, discriminatory provisions remain for foreign women married to a citizen and women who have jointly adopted a child.1339 Foreign women married to a citizen must renounce their citizenship to apply for citizenship and can only do so with the consent of their husband.1340 The law is further discriminatory against women who have jointly adopted a child. They are denied equal right to confer nationality as the application for citizenship of the child can only be made by the father.1341 While many Pacific Island States are not large refugeereceiving countries and have been frequently found reporting no or single figure refugee populations, New Zealand reported 2,364 refugees and asylum seekers to UNHCR in 2021. Causes of Statelessness Discriminatory nationality laws Kiribati and Solomon Islands are the only two countries in the Pacific which contain gender discriminatory provisions in relation to citizenship acquisition, while Papua New Guinea’s legislation contains gender discriminatory provisions with regard to birth registration. In Kiribati, women do not have equal rights to confer citizenship to their children. Persons born in Kiribati of I-Kiribati descent are automatically entitled to citizenship. Those born in Kiribati and not of I-Kiribati descent are only automatically entitled to citizenship if they do not hold any other citizenship.1336 Citizenship by descent is limited to children whose fathers are Kiribati citizens.1337 Children born outside of Kiribati to mothers who are Kiribati citizens are not STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Papua New Guinea also has gender discriminatory provisions in relation to birth registration, which stipulate that in the case of a child born to foreign parents in the country, only the father can act as a witness to the birth.1342 This could result in children born to foreign parents unable to register their birth, potentially placing them at risk of statelessness. Palau’s citizenship legislation contains ethnic discrimination as only ethnic Palauans are able to apply for naturalization.1343 Another country which has discriminatory citizenship legislation is Tonga which stipulates that children born out of wedlock are registered at birth as ‘illegitimate’1344 and are, as a result, unable to inherit land or title and experience stigma and marginalization.1345 Lack of legal safeguards against childhood statelessness The nationality laws of seven States (Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu) have no explicit protection for foundlings born on their territory. The citizenship laws of four States (Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Tuvalu) provide citizenship to foundlings born on their territory. Foundling children in both Australia and New Zealand are also automatically considered citizens.1346 Tuvalu and Fiji provide presumption that a foundling shall be considered to have been born within the country and in turn able to access citizenship through each State’s jus soli provisions.1347 Three States (Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Papua New guinea) provide limited protections for foundlings. The limited jus soli provisions in the laws of Kiribati and the Marshall Islands while structurally similar to those of Fiji and Tuvalu, do not explicitly provide that abandoned children are considered to be born in Kiribati or the Marshall Islands, as such it is less clear how easily foundling children are able to access citizenship.1348 The Constitution of Papua New Guinea provides foundlings automatic access to citizenship by descent by deeming them the be the child of a Papua New Guinean citizen.1349 Seven States (Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand and Tuvalu) provide citizenship to children born on their territories who would otherwise be stateless.1350 There is limited protection provided under the laws of Samoa (at the minister discretion) and Papua New Guinea to stateless persons born on the territory.1351 There is no protection under the laws of the remaining six States (Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu). Citizenship stripping Concerns have been expressed by UNHCR and independent NGOs regarding the potential statelessness of West Papuan refugees in Papua New Guinea, who due to absence from West Papua have lost their Indonesian citizenship and have been unable to access Papua New REPORT 2024 119