parent may directly impact a child’s citizenship, his or her ability to repatriate and ability to enjoy his or her rights. As summarized below, international law prohibits arbitrary deprivation of nationality regardless of whether it leaves the concerned person stateless or not. In addition, States parties to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness may generally not deprive persons of citizenship when it would leave them stateless, except under certain narrow exceptions.152 Further, in reality, the denial or deprivation of nationality has not been shown to be an effective counter-terrorism measure. Rather, it is increasingly understood to be potentially counterproductive to security aims for a number of reasons.153 Such measures can prevent return, rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals who may want to leave a terrorist organization and who do not, or no longer, constitute a threat, while conferring the risk of threat to host countries and local populations.154 87. Given the significance of nationality and its importance to the enjoyment of other rights, as well as States’ responsibilities, the present section examines the overarching principles concerning the right to nationality, prohibition of arbitrary deprivation and denial of nationality, and prevention of statelessness 152 Parties must have filed an appropriate declaration at the time of ratification or accession. See Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961), art. 8. 153 Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly resolution 2263 (2019), available at http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/ XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-EN.asp?fileid=25430&lang=en. among all children, including those affected by the foreign fighter phenomenon. The section also briefly examines human rights concerns in relation to discriminatory nationality laws and the use of DNA tests to establish a child’s nationality. 2.1 International Law and Standards 2.1.1 The Right to Nationality 88. The right to a nationality is a fundamental human right. A number of international conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provide for this right.155 Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children should be registered immediately after birth and are entitled to a name and a nationality.156 In addition, States that are party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness must provide nationality to children born on their territory who would otherwise be stateless.157 155 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), art. 24(3); Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), art. 7(1); Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), art. 15(1); Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), art. 18; International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2007), art. 25(4); International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990), art. 29; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), art. 9; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1960), art. 5(d)(iii); Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (1957), arts. 1, 2, 3; African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990), art. 6; Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003), art. 6(g); Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam (2005), art. 7; American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948), art. xix; American Convention on Human Rights (1969), art. 20; Arab Charter on Human Rights (2004), art. 29; Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1995), art. 24; Resolution of the Asian African Legal Consultative Organization (2006) on legal identity and statelessness, arts. 3, 4, 5. 154 United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force Working Group on Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and the Rule of Law while Countering Terrorism, Guidance to States on human rights–compliant responses to the 156 Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), art. 7(1). threat posed by foreign fighters (2018), 22-23; Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly resolution 2263 (2019), para. 8. 157 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961), art. 1, 40.

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