REGIONAL OVERVIEW Papuans in Papua New Guinea and at least 6,000 Indonesian migrants in the Philippines.217 While steps have been taken to resolve statelessness among these population groups, especially in the Philippines, thousands may remain stateless.218 Within South Asia, members of ethnic Nepali communities known as ‘Lhotshampas’ living in the south of the country were stripped of their Bhutanese citizenship in the late 1980s and expelled from the country with as many as 100,000 refugees arriving in Nepal during the 1990s.219 Within India, the final National Register of citizenship published in 2019 excluded 1.9 million residents from the list – essentially stripping them of their citizenship. Persons excluded from the National Register of Citizens must in turn apply to the government or foreigners’ tribunal to have their citizenship status verified, with those unable to verify their status as citizens rendered stateless.220 In Sri Lanka, Hill Country Tamils were indirectly stripped of their citizenship at Sri Lankan independence in 1948.221 Administrative barriers Administrative barriers to accessing citizenship have rendered a vast number of populations stateless or with uncertain nationality statuses even in States across the Asia-Pacific where citizenship laws provide protection. In East Asia, the central role played by household registration in verifying one’s citizenship and realising the associated rights cannot be overstated. The impact of these systems on the realisation of citizenship is specifically notable in China, Japan and South Korea among children of migrants, ethnic minority groups and those of uncertain nationalities.222 Notably, within South Asia, administrative practice and policy have led to the citizenship laws of Bangladesh shifting in application from jus soli to jus sanguinis in their application.223 This ‘paradigmatic policy shift’224 has compounded intergenerational statelessness among 34 REGIONAL OVERVIEW children born in the country, especially among the estimated 75,000 children of Rohingya refugees.225 Similar lack of implementation of jus soli provisions has been seen in Pakistan where children born in the country to foreigners do not automatically acquire Pakistani citizenship.226 In Southeast Asia, in the past decades the provision and withdrawal of civil registration documents has been complex, discriminatory and a key component of the persecution of the Rohingya population in Myanmar.227 Ethnic minority groups in Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam have also faced barriers to gaining civil registration and citizenship, with such barriers leading to protracted and intergenerational statelessness.228 Administrative barriers to nationality appear to be less prevalent in Central Asia and the Pacific compared to areas such as East Asia where household registration plays a vital evidentiary role for citizenship, or South and Southeast Asia where exclusion from civil registration has been used as a tool of ethnic discrimination.229 Birth registration In South Asia, discriminatory administrative and practical barriers have fundamentally limited the ability of women and minority groups in Afghanistan and Nepal to gain identity documentation and to confirm their status as citizens.230 Barriers to ethnic minority groups accessing birth registration and documentation have deeply affected populations in India and Pakistan.231 In the case of the ethnic Bengali population in Pakistan, such barriers have embedded statelessness for hundreds of thousands of people across generations.232 The denial of civil registration documents and arbitrary and discriminatory applications of policy have played a key role in causing and compounding statelessness in Southeast Asia. For example, low birth registration rates and barriers to birth STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) registration especially among children of migrant workers and communities living in poverty have placed as many as 50 million children in Indonesia at risk of statelessness.233 Administrative and practical barriers to accessing birth registration have placed as many as 130,000 Sama Bajau (or ‘Bajut Laut’) community members — who reside in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia — at risk of statelessness.234 For example, low birth registration rates and barriers to birth registration especially among children of migrant workers and communities living in poverty have placed as many as 50 million children in Indonesia at risk of statelessness. Low rates of birth registration across several countries in the Pacific — notably Papua New Guinea (13%), Vanuatu (43%) and Samoa (67%)235 — place some isolated and minority groups at risk of statelessness. While Central Asia has high rates of birth registration (with all countries reporting in the 90th percentile236), birth registration is a prerequisite for citizenship in Kazakhstan237 and Kyrgyzstan238 and is required to obtain identity documents in Tajikistan239. Due to this, for the small percentage that remains unregistered in these countries, there is a high risk of statelessness. While all States in East Asia have high reported rates of birth registration of 100%,240 the central role played by household registration systems in evidencing citizenship places children of irregular migrants at risk of statelessness.241 Requirement of birth registration for citizenship acquisition Birth registration can help to prevent statelessness as it provides a legal record of a child’s birthplace, parentage, and other key elements which determine citizenship. At the same time, a birth certificate obtained from birth registration does not necessarily certify citizenship in all countries. Therefore, it is important to note the link between a birth certificate and citizenship certification in countries across the region to determine the risk of statelessness that may occur from incomplete national birth registration. A birth certificate has been identified as a citizenship certifying document in 25 of the 45 States, including Australia242, Bangladesh243, Bhutan244, Cambodia245, Fiji246, India247, Indonesia248, Japan249, Kiribati250, Kyrgyzstan251, Malaysia252, the Maldives253, Mongolia254, Myanmar255, Nauru256, New Zealand257, Pakistan258, the Philippines259, Singapore260, Thailand261, Timor-Leste262, Tonga263, Turkmenistan264, Uzbekistan265, and Viet Nam266. In Turkmenistan267 and Uzbekistan268. A birth certificate certifies citizenship before a passport is issued (and up until a child reaches the age of 16 in Turkmenistan). Birth registration in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is not a required document for acquisition of nationality; however, children would not be able to enjoy full citizenship rights without birth registration as it is a part of the countries’ respective household registration system which determines nationality rights. While a birth certificate is not explicitly listed as a document that proves citizenship in the Maldives, it is directly linked to citizenship acquisition as a child’s unique Maldivian identity number is issued upon birth registration.269 Birth registration in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is not a required document for acquisition of nationality; however, children would not be able to enjoy full citizenship rights without birth registration as it is a part of the countries’ respective household registration system which determines nationality rights.270 While Tajikistan’s citizenship legislation does not specifically state which documents are required to certify citizenship, a birth certificate is required in order to obtain identity documents, including a passport.271 REPORT 2024 35