ENDNOTES
129
130
131
132
133
134
Commissioner for Refugees for the Office of the
High Commissioner for Home Rights’ Compilation
Report Universal Periodic Review: Brunei Darussalam’
(October 2018) 3-4. <https://www.refworld.org/
topic,50ffbce524d,50ffbce5268,5ccab7d67,0,,,BRN.
html>; Lyma Nguyen and Christoph Sperfledt, ‘A Boat
Without Anchors’ (JRS Cambodia, 2012); Stateless
Persons in Indonesia: Consequences and Legal Protection’
(2022) 11(1) Udayana Master Law Journal 76; Supra
90; Amanda Flaim ‘Problems of Evidence, Evidence
of Problems: Expanding Citizenship and Reproducing
Statelessness among Highlanders in Northern Thailand’
in Benjamin Lawrence and Jacqueline Stevens (eds),
Citizenship in Question: Evidentiary Birthright and
Statelessness (Duke University Press, 2017); Boat
People SOS, ‘Consequences of Statelessness on Hmong
Christians: The Children of Subdivision 181 in Vietnam –
A Case Study’ (30 December 2021) <https://www.ohchr.
org/sites/default/files/2022-01/Boat-People-SOS.pdf>.
Lyanne Togiba and Michele Cheng, ‘Life in Limbo: The
Manus Babies who Face a Stateless Future’, The Guardian
(Online, 13 December 2018) <https://www.theguardian.
com/australia-news/2018/dec/13/life-in-limbo-themanus-babies-who-face-a-stateless-future>.
See e.g., Jonathan Simon and Heather Alexander, ‘No
Port, No Passport: Why Submerged States Can Have
No Nationals’ (2017) 26(2) Washington International
law Journal 307; Jane McAdam, Climate Change, Forced
Migration and International Law (Oxford University Press,
2012); Jane McAdam et al, International Law and SeaLevel Rise: Forced Migration and Human Rights’ (FNI
Report 1/2016, Fridtjof Nansen Institute and the Kaldor
Centre for International refugee Law); UNHCR, SFS and
IMO, ‘A Toolbox: Planning Relocations to Protect People
from Climate and Environmental Change’ (Report, 2017);
Barbara Buckinx, Matt Edbrooke and Rana Ibrahem,
‘Self-Determination and Sea-Level Rise’ (Policy Paper,
Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, April
2021); Jenny Grote Stoutenburg, ‘When Do States
Disappear?’ in Michael B Gerrard and Gregory E Wannier
(eds), Threatened Island Nations: Legal Implication of Rising
Seas and a Changing Climate (Cambridge University Press,
2013); Maxine A Burkett, ‘The Nation Ex-Situ’ in Michael
B Gerrard and Gregory E Wannier (eds), Threatened Island
Nations: Legal Implication of Rising Seas and a Changing
Climate (Cambridge University Press, 2013); Jennifer
Saxon, ‘Disappearing States, Rising Statelessness: The
Twin Crises Just Around the Corner’, RLI Blog (Online, 14
December 2020) <https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2020/12/14/
disappearing-states-rising-statelessness-the-twin-crisesjust-around-the-corner/>.
See Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Norwegian
Refugee Council and UNHCR, ‘Statelessness and Climate
Change’ (October 2021) <https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__
data/assets/pdf_file/0003/3945081/Statelessness-andClimate-Change.pdf>.
See further Barbara Buckinx, Matt Edbrooke and Rana
Ibrahem, ‘Self-Determination and Sea-Level Rise’ (Policy
Paper, Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination,
April 2021) 5–7.
With the notable exception of the Maldives, with the
highest elevation point of the Maldives being 2.4 metres
above sea-level, the impacts of climate-induced sea-level
rise and in turn the potential risks of statelessness caused
by ‘disappearing states’ has been discussed in detail.
CEDAW, ‘Concluding Observations on the Third Periodic
ENDNOTES
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
Report of Afghanistan’ UN Doc CEDAW/C/AFG/CO/3 (10
March 2020) [37]–[38]; US Department of State, ‘Nepal
2021: Human Rights Report’ (April 2022) 20; see for
example, ‘Deena and Charulatha — Nepal’, Equality now (7
July 2022) <https://www.equalitynow.org/stories/deenaand-charulatha-nepal/>.
CRC, ‘Concluding Observations on the Combined Third
and Fourth Periodic Reports of India’ UN Doc CRC/C/
IND/CO/3-4 (7 July 2014) [43]–[44]; UNHCR, ‘Submission
for the Officer of the Hight Commissioner for Human
Rights Compilation Report, Universal Periodic Review:
India’ (August 2016) 2.
Xari Jalil, ‘50 Years of Statelessness: The Bengalis of
Macchar Colony’, VoicePK (27 December 2021) <https://
voicepk.net/2021/12/50-years-of-statelessnessthe-bengalis-of-macchar-colony/>; Imkaan Welfare
Organisation, Nationality For All and Institute on
Statelessness and Inclusion, ‘Joint Submission to the
Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review:
Pakistan’ (2022) <https://files.institutesi.org/UPR42_
Pakistan.pdf>; See Rumaisa Khalil Uddin, ‘State-Less?
The Harsh Reality of Ethnic Bengalis Living in Pakistan’,
Siasat (1 October 2021) <https://blog.siasat.pk/ethnicbengalis-living-in-pakistan/>; Hajira Maryam, ‘Stateless
and Helpless: The Plight of Ethnic Bengalis in Pakistan’,
Al Jazeera ((29 September 2021) <https://www.aljazeera.
com/features/2021/9/29/stateless-ethnic-bengalispakistan>.
Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice, ‘AIPJ Baseline
Study on Legal Identity: Indonesia’s Missing Millions’
(Report, 2014) 3; See Jessica Ball, Leslie Butt and Harriot
Beazley, ‘Birth Registration and Protection for Children of
Transnational Labour Migrants in Indonesia’ (2017) 15(3)
Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies 305.
Brian Barbour, Supra 90 at 6.
UN Statistics Division, Coverage of Birth and Death
Registration’ (February 2021) https://unstats.un.org/unsd/
demographic-social/crvs/; UNICEF, ‘Birth Registration
Data Set’ (May 2022) <https://data.unicef.org/resources/
dataset/percentage-children-age-5-whose-birthsregistered-sex-place-residence-household-wealthquintile/>.
See UN Statistics Division, Coverage of Birth and Death
Registration’ (February 2021) <https://unstats.un.org/
unsd/demographic-social/crvs/>.
US Department of State, ‘China 2021: Human Rights
Report’ (April 2022) 60; Samantha A Vortherms, ‘China’s
Missing Children: Political Barriers to Citizenship
through the Household Registration System’ (2019)
238 The Chine Quarterly 309. Stephanie Gordon, ‘China’s
Hidden Children’, The Diplomat (online, 12 March 2015)
<https://thediplomat.com/2015/03/chinas-hiddenchildren/>; Coco Liu and Shanshan Chen, ‘Lost Lives: The
Battle of China’s Invisible Children to Recover Missed
Years’, Reuters (online, 14 December 2016) <https://
www.reuters.com/article/us-china-children-policyidUSKBN1431CX>.
Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China (1980) ss
4–5; Nationality Law No 147 (1950) s 2(1) (Japan); Law of
Mongolia on Citizenship (1955) s 7(1)–(3); Nationality Law
of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2017) s 5;
Nationality Act (2016) s 2(1)(1) (South Korea).
Nationality Law No 147 (1950) s 2(1) (Japan); Nationality
Act (2016) s 2(1)(1) (South Korea).
Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China (1980)
ss 4–5; Law of Mongolia on Citizenship (1955) s 7(1);
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
Nationality Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(2017) ss 5, 7.
Chae Mims, ‘The Statelessness of the Children of
North Korean Women Defectors in China’ (2021)
24(2) Human Rights Brief 98; Choo Chin Low, ‘Report on
Citizenship Law: China and Taiwan’ (Country Report,
EUDO Citizenship Observatory, 2016); Study Group on
Statelessness in Japan, ‘Typology of Stateless Persons in
Japan’ (Report, UNHCR 2017) 126–36.
Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons,
1954
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,
1951 ‘Protocol relation to the Status of Refugees,
1967>(‘Refugee Convention and Protocol’).
ICESCR, 1966; ICERD, 1965; CRC, 1989; CEDAW, 1979;
CRPD, 2006
CEDAW (n 31).
ICCPR, 1966.
UNHCR, Table 5 (June 2022).
Ibid. NB. The figure of 707 stateless persons is included
for Japan in the table however UNHCR notes that this
figures is an estimate as “The published data refers to
end-2020. Statistics for end-2021 have been received by
UNHCR and will be published in the coming weeks. At
end-2021 there were a total of 1,508 refugees and 16,709
pending asylum-seekers and 531 stateless people.” The
figure of 531 as such has been adopted.
Chulhyo Kim and Seori Choi, ‘Mapping Statelessness in
the Republic of Korea’ (December 2021) 77 <https://
www.refworld.org/docid/61dc11a34.html>
UNHCR, Table 5 (June 2022).
Samantha A Vortherms, ‘China’s Missing Children:
Political Barriers to Citizenship through the Household
Registration System’ (2019) 238 The China Quarterly
309; Stephanie Gordon, ‘China’s Hidden Children’, The
Diplomat (online, 12 March 2015) <https://thediplomat.
com/2015/03/chinas-hidden-children/>; Coco Liu and
Shanshan Chen, ‘Lost Lives: The Battle of China’s Invisible
Children to Recover Missed Years’, Reuters (online, 14
December 2016) <https://www.reuters.com/article/uschina-children-policy-idUSKBN1431CX>.
Statistics Bureau of Japan, ‘Population Census 2020’
(June 2021) Table50. Population by Sex and Nationality
(Detailed groups).
South Korea provides statistics on the citizenship
of international migrants annually – see KOSIS,
'International Migration of foreigners by sex and
citizenship' (2021). Previous Census’ have not made
publicly available data on the stateless status of foreigners
and have fundamentally undercounted the number of
foreigners in Korea.
E-Stat, Supra note 66
US DoS, ‘Japan 2021: Human Rights Report’ (April 2022)
17.
UNHCR, ‘Submission by the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees for OHCHR, Compilation
Report-UPR: Mongolia’ (April 2014) 2.
UNHCR, Table 5 and Table 1(June 2022). China reported
303,436 refugees to UNHCR, of whom 303,100 were
reportedly Vietnamese refugees who are “well integrated
and receive protection from the Government of China.”
Study Group on Statelessness in Japan, ‘Typology of
Stateless Persons in Japan’ (UNHCR, 2017) 137.
E-Stat, supra note 66
Min-Chul Hwang, ‘Exploring Marriage Migrants’
Citizenship Acquisition in South Korea’ (2015) 24(3)
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
Asia and Pacific Migration Journal 376; Susan Kneebone,
‘Transnational Marriage Migrants and Nationality: The
Case of South Korea and Taiwan’ (Conference Paper,
International Academic Conference, November 2017);
Hee-Kang Kim, ‘Marriage Migration between South
Korea and Vietnam: A Gender Perspective’ (2012) 36(3)
Asian Perspective 531; Hsiao-Chuan Hsia, ‘From “Social
Problem” to “Social Assets”: Geopolitical, Discursive
Shifts in Children of Southeast Asian Marriage Migrants,
and Mother-Child Dyadic Citizenship in Taiwan’ [2021]
Citizenship Studies 1. Te-Yuan Chien, ‘Differential Human
Right of Migrant Spouses Based on Nationalities in
Taiwan’ (2018) 19 Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and
the Law 81.
Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China (1980) s 6;
Nationality Law No 147 (1950) s 2(3) (Japan); Nationality
Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2017) s
5(3); Nationality Act (2016) s 2(1)(3) (South Korea).
Law of Mongolia on Citizenship (1955) s 7(5).
Nationality Law No 147 (1950) s 2(3) (Japan); Law of
Mongolia on Citizenship (1955) s 7(4); Nationality Law of
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2017) s 5(4);
Nationality Act (2016) s 2(2) (South Korea).
Huang Yujia and Ye Ruolin, ‘With Few Abandoned Babies,
China’s Orphanages Stand Empty’, Sixth Tone (25 March
2021) <https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1007569/withfar-fewer-abandoned-babies%2C-chinas-orphanagesstand-empty>. See also, Li Hui and Ben Blanchard, ‘China’s
Unwanted Babies Once Mostly Girls, Now Mostly Sick,
Disabled’, Reuters (3 February 2014).
Law of Mongolia on Citizenship (1955) ss 7(5), 11, 4. see also
s 12 grounds for denial of cessation do not include causing
or risking statelessness.
UNHCR, ‘Submission by the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees for the Office of the High
Commission for Human Rights, Compilation ReportUniversal Periodic Review: Mongolia’ (April 2010);
UNHCR, ‘Submission by the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees for the Office of the High
Commission for Human Rights, Compilation ReportUniversal Periodic Review: Mongolia’ (April 2014).
Chae Mims, ‘The Statelessness of the Children of
North Korean Women Defectors in China’ (2021)
24(2) Human Rights Brief 98; Choo Chin Low, ‘Report on
Citizenship Law: China and Taiwan’ (Country Report,
EUDO Citizenship Observatory, 2016); Study Group on
Statelessness in Japan, ‘Typology of Stateless Persons in
Japan’ (Report, UNHCR 2017) 126–36.
UNICEF, ‘Birth Registration Data Set’, Supra
Ibid
Epeli Hau’ofa, ‘Our Sea of Islands’ in E. Waddell, V. Naidu
and E. Hau’ofa (sds.) A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea
of Islands (1993) 8.
See further Michelle Foster, Nicola Hard, Hélène Lambert
and Jane McAdam, ‘The Future of Nationality in the
Pacific: Preventing Statelessness and Nationality Loss in
the context of Climate Change’ (May 2022) <https://law.
unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/4119481/
The-Future-of-Nationality-in-the-Pacific_May2022.pdf>.
Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia (1978)
art 3(2); Naoero Citizenship Act (2017) ss 9, 12; The
Constitution of the Republic of Palau (1979) art 3(2);
Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea
(1975) s 66; The Constitution of the Solomon Islands (1978)
s 22; Nationality Act (2016) s 2 (Tonga); Constitution of the
Republic of Vanuatu (1980) s 11.
70
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STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC
REPORT 2023