SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: EAST ASIA SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: EAST ASIA TABLE 25 Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR Country Mongolia 2019 (year start)1094 2020 (year end)1095 2021 (year end)1096 2022 (year end)1097 17 – 17 17 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022. Mongolia hosts a strict policy against dual nationality, and foreign citizens aspiring to become Mongolian citizens are obligated to renounce their existing citizenships. for citizenship in the foreign country of their parents. Undetermined nationalities There is minimal research available on the composition of the stateless populations in Mongolia. However, UNHCR and the CRC have both drawn attention to the situation of ethnic Kazakhs in the country.1098 After the USSR dissolved in the early 1990s and Kazakhstan became an independent state, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Kazakhs left Mongolia for Kazakhstan.1099 In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many ethnic Kazakhs wanted to return to Mongolia. However, they were unsuccessful in their attempt and were left stateless as they had previously renounced their Mongolian nationality to acquire Kazakh nationality. Many have since returned to Mongolia and may have the right to reacquire citizenship yet have faced administrative barriers to doing so.1100 Causes of Statelessness Lack of legal safeguards against childhood statelessness Mongolia’s citizenship laws provide some safeguards against statelessness and protections for foundling children. A child born to one Mongolian citizen and one stateless parent will be a citizen of Mongolia regardless of birthplace.1101 Children born to stateless parents permanently 98 residing in Mongolia can only access Mongolian citizenship after reaching 16 years of age.1102 This is problematic as stateless children often are denied the right to education, healthcare, and an adequate standard of living.1103 Foundling children born in Mongolia are automatically considered Mongolian nationals.1104 There are, however, no legislative safeguards protecting children born outside of the territory from becoming stateless in the event that the parents fail to provide the required written agreement in order to gain citizenship. Administrative barriers A 2010 stateless survey showed that a lack of knowledge of the administrative process and information only being available in Mongolian fundamentally limited the ability of the largely stateless Kazakh ethnic minority population from gaining citizenship.1105 The CRC has noted that while Mongolia has a high rate of recorded birth registration (reported to the UN Statistical Department to be 100% in 20211106), additional efforts are needed to ensure that children of Kazakh ethnicity whose parents have either returned to Mongolia or internally migrated have access to birth registration and citizenship.1107 Births are registered immediately in Mongolia, and failure to register a birth could cause a person to be denied public services.1108 Further, one must have a birth certificate in order to receive a passport, as stipulated by the Law of Mongolia on Citizenship.1109 Children born to stateless parents permanently residing in Mongolia can only access Mongolian citizenship after reaching 16 years of age. This is problematic as stateless children often are denied the right to education, healthcare, and an adequate standard of living. STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Demovratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) Laws Citizenship Law Jus sanguinis and jus soli provisions The nationality laws of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) operate through a jus sanguinis structure with a limited jus soli provision, as stipulated by the Nationality Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Persons born to two North Korean parents are considered citizens.1110 A child born to one citizen and one foreigner or stateless person who is residing in North Korea will be a citizen.1111 For children born outside of North Korea to one North Korean citizen and one foreign citizen where the child is under 14 years of age, citizenship is granted upon the wish of the parents.1112 The child will gain citizenship if the parents or the guardian of the child fail to express their wish within 3 months from birth.1113 If the child in this scenario is over 14 years of age, the parents or guardian may express their wish along with the child’s consent in order for the child to gain citizenship with the ultimate decision left to the child in the event of indecision of the parents.1114 If an individual is 18 years of age, citizenship is granted upon the consent of the said individual.1115 In order to complete this process, the parents or the individual must submit an application to the embassy in the foreign country where the child was born or, if unable to do so, in a nearby country.1116 There is no definition of a stateless person included in the national citizenship legislation of North Korea. Naturalized citizenship While Article 6 of the Nationality Law provides that a stateless person or citizen of another country can acquire North Korean The nationality laws of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) operate through a jus sanguinis structure with a limited jus soli provision, as stipulated by the Nationality Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. REPORT 2024 99