2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(2) In line with other international legal texts, arbitrary deprivation of citizenship is always in violation with the ICERD. However, GR 30 and following Concluding Observations show that in order not to be arbitrary, states must ensure that this revocation is non-discriminatory as one of the highest international standards. This applies to countries where dual nationality is not allowed, or where revocation of citizenship is used as a counter-terrorism measure. Also, denying the acquisition of citizenship can be a breach of the ICERD, in particular when it is clear that the group or member of such group that is discriminated against has a genuine and effective link to that state. States that connect ethnicity to their nationality identity, such as Israel, Croatia or Kenya, may include that aspect in their nationality legislation, strictly provided that this does not result in the exclusion of individuals not belonging to that ethnicity. Finally, states have an obligation to actively eliminate statelessness on their territory through the collection of data, active removal of barriers or the facilitation of naturalisation. The Committee uses its strongest and most concrete language on legislative developments, such as reform of nationality law or the establishment of a statelessness determination procedure. These type of Concluding Observations are measurable and concrete. On the implementation of legislation and procedures, it remains more vague and often recommends states parties to ‘ensure’ application without discrimination. How a state achieves this is left at the discretion, and good-will, of the state party. The Committee upholds and pushes high normative standards regarding the right to nationality. As its monitoring body, while its communications do not constitute binding law, the Committee’s interpretation of the ICERD carries great weight. 166 While this paper does not give an in-depth analysis on the functioning of UN treaty bodies or the effectiveness of the reporting procedure across the UN system, it should be noted that, in reality, the request to submit a state report every two years is the exception, rather than the norm. 167 In the 15 years since GR 30 was published, 262 periodic reviews have taken place by the Committee over its 182 member states. This results in a world-wide average of 1.44 such reviews per state. Based on this average, the Committee should have published Concluding Observations on all 182 state parties once every 10 years. However, as mentioned in the introduction, while some countries have met with the Committee three or four times, other states parties did not submit a single report on the implementation of the ICERD. These countries include smaller states that have less resources available to submit a report and send a delegation to Geneva, such as Nauru, Palau and Sao Tome and Principe. However, countries such as Singapore or Eritrea have yet to meet with the Committee for the first time. As mentioned previously, other countries including Liberia and Sierra Leone have not been under review since 2001 and 1996 respectively. Côte D’Ivoire, topping UNHCR’s statelessness statistics with close to one million registered stateless persons, has not been reviewed since 2003. 168 This makes it more difficult for the Committee to followup on its recommendations. As said, the most concrete recommendations by the 166 Ahmadou Sadio Diallo (Republic of Guinea v Democratic Republic of Congo) (Judgment) [2010] ICJ Rep 639 [66]. For a deeper review of this case, see Sandy Ghandhi, Human Rights and the International Court of Justice: The Ahmadou Sadio Diallo Case (2011) 11(3) Human Rights Law Review 527. 167 ICERD (n 3) art 9. 168 Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2019 (Report, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees June 2020) <https://www.unhcr.org/5ee200e37.pdf>. For a discussion on the data, see Statelessness in Numbers: 2020 (Report, Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion August 2020) <https://files.institutesi.org/ISI_statistics_analysis_2020.pdf>. 246