gravity of the behaviour or offence for which the withdrawal of nationality is prescribed.10 According to UN experts, states may deprive individuals of nationality when they have conducted themselves in a manner seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the state. Yet, in order to avoid a characterisation of arbitrariness, any deprivation must serve a legitimate purpose that is consistent with international law and must be proportionate to the interest that the state seeks to protect.11 Very importantly, sufficient procedural guarantees and safeguards must be in place in order to protect against the risk of arbitrariness in the decision-making process, particularly the opportunity to effectively challenge decisions before an independent judicial body.12 Moreover, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution in June 2012 reiterating that arbitrary deprivation of nationality, especially on discriminatory grounds such as, but not limited to, political or other opinion, is a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and arbitrarily depriving a person of his or her nationality may lead to statelessness.13 It is important to note that if the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality has become a principle of customary international law, so is the obligation to prevent statelessness.14 The UN Secretary-General noted that “where loss or deprivation of nationality leads to statelessness, the impact on the individual is particularly severe” and that “given the severity of the consequences where statelessness results, it may be difficult to justify loss or deprivation [of nationality] resulting in statelessness in terms of proportionality.”15 In other words, it would be hard to argue that striping someone of their citizenship when leading to statelessness aligns with international law. On the contrary, it appears that international law would prohibit such deprivation as it would violate the principle of proportionality. Human Rights Council 25th session, Human Rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: Report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc. A/HRC/13/34, 14 December 2009, para. 4, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session25/Documents/AHRC-25-28_en.doc (accessed on 30 April 2024). 11 Communication from UN Special Procedures, OL ARE 6/2020, 13 November 2020, p.17, https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25663, (accessed on 29 April 2024). 12 Ibid. 13 Human Rights Council 20th session, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, A/HRC/20/L.9, 28 June 2012, para. 4, https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/20/L.9 (accessed on 29 April 2024). 14 UNHCR, Expert Meeting: Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention and Avoiding Statelessness resulting from Loss and Deprivation of Nationality, November 2013, para. 2, https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/5465e2cb9.pdf (accessed on 30 April 2024). 15 Human Rights Council 25th session, Human Rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: Report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc. A/HRC/13/34, 14 December 2009, para. 4, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session25/Documents/AHRC-25-28_en.doc (accessed on 30 April 2024). 10 6 Citizenship stripping in the UAE