Discrimination and Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality Statelessness is often caused by discrimination against particular groups, including ethnic, racial, religious, and linguistic minorities and women. In 26 countries, among them Kuwait, Lebanon, and Qatar, gender-discriminatory legislation denies mothers the right to pass nationality to their children on an equal basis as fathers, which can create statelessness.55 State policies and practices often deny citizenship to children born out of wedlock. In some countries, there are discriminatory laws where marriage or dissolution of marriage serves as a ground for automatic loss of citizenship. One particularly sensitive and often complicated form of discrimination is the arbitrary deprivation of nationality. Deprivation of nationality resulting in statelessness is generally considered to be arbitrary, unless it serves a legitimate purpose and is subject to important substantive and procedural standards.56 For example, nationality should only be deprived under exceptional circumstances57 and only “as prescribed by law.”58 Arbitrary deprivation of nationality often results from State practices or policies that disproportionately affect particular minority groups and may include, for example, denying children citizenship at the time of birth or stripping individuals of citizenship later in life. The refusal of the Dominican Republic to issue documents proving citizenship to many Dominican-born children of Haitian descent who were previously recognized as citizens is one example of this kind of discrimination.59 Another is the decision of Mauritania in 1989 to deprive a large segment of its black population of citizenship and subsequently expel them to Mali and Senegal.60 Technical Causes of Statelessness “Technical causes” refers to situations where statelessness is the unintended result of gaps 14 in a country’s nationality laws, conflict of citizenship laws, or the actions or inactions of individuals. Perhaps the most common technical cause of statelessness is incompatibilities between the laws of States recognizing citizenship primarily through blood relationship (jus sanguinis) and those recognizing citizenship through birth in the country (jus soli). A child whose parents are nationals of a country that grants nationality primarily through birth on the territory and limits transmission by descent or blood line, but who is born in a country that grants nationality primarily through the blood line of one or both parents, may not be able to acquire any nationality at birth.61 Other “technicalities” in nationality laws can render an individual stateless at birth or later in life. A few examples include: not providing nationality to abandoned children found on the territory; automatic loss of nationality of individuals who reside abroad without registering with a consulate after a specified period of time;62 procedural formalities upon the marriage of a national of a country to a non-national who, by virtue of that marriage, does not retain his or her citizenship in their home country. Statelessness can also result when individuals fail to overcome administrative hurdles related to proof of nationality. For example, in countries with onerous requirements for birth registration, such as unreasonable deadlines, excessive fees, or burdensome document requirements, and particularly among certain migrant, displaced, or nomadic communities, parents may be unable to comply with registration requirements for obtaining birth certificates for their children. As a result, these children may not be able to obtain documentary evidence of their nationality. In most cases, undocumented children do have a nationality, but their inability to prove their birth, origins, or legal identity when needed can lead to statelessness if their country of nationality then refuses to acknowledge them as nationals. Citizens of Nowhere: