BACKGROUND right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights: (d) Other civil rights, in particular: (iii) The right to nationality; CEDAW, Article 9: (1) States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband. (2) States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children. BACKGROUND population numbers are also included, sources utilized include independent reports, census counts, media releases and statements from government, media reporting and academic reports. Qualitative data was gathered from sources including UN reports, media reporting, academic articles, independent reports and the abovementioned consultations and bilateral meetings. Definitions and terminology This report categorizes population groups into five defined groups provided below 1. Stateless persons 2. Persons at risk of statelessness 3. Persons of Undetermined Nationality 4. Stateless refugees 5. Other population of note CRC, Article 7: The following definitions are adopted in this report. (1) The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. Stateless person: a person “who is not considered a national by any State under the operation of its Law”21 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, article 1. (2) States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless. Populations Data and sources Qualitative and quantitative data have been gathered and included on populations affected by statelessness across the region. Quantitative data was drawn from the “official” populations number provided by states to the UNHCR published in the annual Global Trends on Forced Displacement Report (‘Global Trends’). This edition includes Global Trends data from 2021, published in June 2022. Other publicly available data of estimated or reported Persons at risk of statelessness: as a term without a single definition under international law, “at risk of statelessness” there are a number of interpretations of this term. This report adopts a broad definition of the term, focusing on persons and populations who lack relevant identity documents including birth registration, confirmation of citizenship or identity card (or a combination of these) that undermines their ability to meet requirements to prove their citizenship.22 Persons of Undetermined Nationality: again, there is no absolute consensus on the definition of Persons of Undetermined Nationality under international law, UNHCR has previously utilized the term “as an umbrella expression for the classification of the nationality status as ‘unknown’, ‘undetermined’ or ‘under investigation’. The term also covers cases where States do not classify a person as ‘stateless’, but rather use a specific term based on their domestic law.”23 There also exist a few additional definitions for "Persons of Undetermined Nationality" including:  UNHCR’s working definition of Persons of Undetermined Nationality - “a person who lacks proof of possession of any nationality and who at the same time has or is perceived as having links to a State other than the one he/she is living in.”24  The Expert Group on Refugee, Internally Displaced Persons and Statelessness Statistics state that ‘Persons of Undetermined Nationality’ are people who lack proof of citizenship but who may possess an entitlement to nationality, and if so, could be assisted to obtain proof of citizenship by the relevant authorities. Those in the Persons of Undetermined Nationality category must lack proof of citizenship and have links to more than one country, that are real or perceived to be real by authorities, because of their place of birth, marriage, habitual residence, or descent from earlier generations who have migrated.”25 of the country of his former habitual residence… is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” who is also “not considered a national by any state under the operation of its law”.26 Other Populations of Note: this categorisation is applied for groups that have formally been stateless, or of Persons of Undetermined Nationality whose citizenship status has been resolved yet still experience the impacts of their former status. Causes of statelessness The causes of statelessness globally and across the Asia Pacific vary greatly. Several key causes have previously been identified by ISI and other stakeholders. For this report the following five identified causes were utilized as a means of categorization and differentiation. In some instances, there is a noted overlap between the causes or the presence of multiple causes that can compound or extend individual experiences of statelessness. Where this is the case, categories may be combined, or the impacts of multiple causes noted. Discriminatory nationality laws Broadly, Persons of Undetermined Nationality is interpreted in this report as a term covering groups possessing a nationality status classified as “unknown” or the like, as well as groups that lack proof of citizenship but may have the entitlement to nationality under the law. While there are a number of similarities between this definition and that of “persons at risk of statelessness” a key distinguishing factor is the relevant community’s possession of perceived links to another state (including historic links). Discrimination towards specific gender, ethnic, racial, religious or other identities is a key cause of statelessness.27 Discriminatory nationality laws violate international law protecting the right to nationality without discrimination and can also lead to greater discrimination due to an individual’s stateless status. In the case of gender discriminatory laws for example, it can cause intergenerational statelessness if women cannot confer nationality to their children on the same basis as men. Stateless Refugees: “any person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion… who not having a nationality and being outside Lack of legal safeguards against childhood statelessness Safeguards against childhood statelessness include citizenship provisions that provide immediate or easy access to citizenship for 10 11 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC REPORT 2023