COALITION ON EVERY CHILD’S RIGHT TO A NATIONALITY COMBATTING STATELESSNESS AMONGST MINORITIES Many international legal instruments protect the right of minority children to nationality. 16 Convention on the Rights of the Child – Article 7 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness – Article 9 › The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality: › A Contracting State may not deprive any person or group of persons of their nationality on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds › States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind. › States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination. I S S U E M1 :I NMOI N R IOTRYI TCYH ICLHDIRL EDNR EANN D & S TAT E L E S S N E S S “The African Committee cannot over-emphasise the overall negative impact of statelessness on children. While it is always no fault of their own, stateless children often inherits an uncertain future. [They face] difficulty to travel freely, difficulty in accessing justice procedures when necessary, as well as the challenge of finding oneself in a legal limbo vulnerable to expulsion from their home country. Statelessness is particularly devastating to children in the realisation of their socioeconomic rights such as access to health care, and access to education. In sum, being stateless as a child is generally antithesis to the best interests of children.” - Decision of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child regarding children of Nubian descent in Kenya M I N O R I T Y C H I L D R E N A N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S 17