Addressing Statelessness through ICERD
Data Collection and Reporting
In General Recommendation No 24 on art 1(1), the Committee asks states to report
on non-citizens and to include information on demographics in their reporting. 146
In its SRG it also requests information on ‘the specific situation of long-term or
permanent residents’ and on the action taken by the state. 147 In its Concluding
Observations, for example, the Committee requested Togo to ‘provide in its next
periodic report precise and disaggregated data on persons who have applied for
Togolese nationality, the number of applications accepted, the number denied and,
if applicable, the reasons for denial’. 148 It has requested other states for similar
data. 149 During its Concluding Observations of Estonia in 2010, the Committee
recommended the further examination of ‘the reasons behind the reluctance of
potential applicants to engage in the naturalization process with a view to
improving the situation’. 150 During an earlier review of Estonia, the Committee
already recommended ‘a thorough investigation into possible barriers which may
exist, both in terms of the naturalization procedure and in relation to lack of
motivation to apply for citizenship’. 151
Removal of Barriers to Naturalisation
Most Concluding Observations by the Committee on proactive action seems to be
about tearing down barriers. The Committee has, on the enjoyment of human
rights more generally, referred to barriers, such as administrative, legal, practical,
economic, social, geographic and linguistic. 152 In its GR 30, the Committee has
recommended that the states ‘pay due attention to possible barriers of
naturalisation’ and ‘encourage parents to apply for citizenship’. 153 In its
Concluding Observations, the Committee has noted that in Sri Lanka, Tamils of
Indian origin face such structural inequalities in the form of, inter alia, high levels
of poverty, poor housing conditions, and ‘difficulty in obtaining citizenship papers
or identity documents, leading to problems with owning housing, opening bank
146 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, General Recommendation No 24
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
Concerning Article 1 of the Convention, 55th sess, 1371 mtg, UN Doc A/54/18, annex V (27
August 1999) [3]–[4]; GR 30, UN Doc CERD/C/64/Misc.11/Rev.3 (n 13) [5].
SRG, UN Doc CERD/C/2007/1 (n 25) [19].
Concluding Observations: Togo, UN Doc CERD/C/TGO/CO/18-19 (n 60) [27].
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Consideration of the Reports
Submitted by States Parties under Article 9 of the Convention: Concluding Observations of
the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Uzbekistan, UN Doc
CERD/C/UZB/CO/5 (10 March 2006) [19]; Concluding Observations: Turkmenistan, UN
Doc CERD/C/TKM/CO/5 (n 49) [9]; Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 9 of the Convention:
Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination: Australia,
UN Doc CERD/C/AUS/CO/14 (11 March 2005) [24].
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Consideration of Reports Submitted
by States Parties under Article 9 of the Convention: Concluding Observations of the
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Estonia, UN Doc
CERD/C/EST/CO/8-9 ( 27 August 2010) [15].
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Report of the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Concluding Observations of the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Estonia, UN Doc A/57/18 (22 August 2002) [353].
Thornberry (n 19) 88.
GR 30, UN Doc CERD/C/64/Misc.11/Rev.3 (n 13) [13], [16]; GR 34, UN
Doc CERD/C/GC/34 (n 86) [47].
243