Addressing Statelessness through ICERD Croatia were unable to ‘reclaim their status as citizens and/or residents’. 101 It raised a similar concern on Bosnia and Herzegovina, and noted with concern that the grounds for denying citizenship were ‘vague and may lead to discriminatory application’. 102 Such vagueness and the risk of (indirect) discrimination as a result has also been noted by the Committee in relation to Switzerland and Cyprus, among others. 103 The Committee has been clearest when one particular group is directly excluded from citizenship. The UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are three countries with a sizeable population of Bidoon, a traditionally nomadic group, many of whom are stateless. 104 The Committee made note of this in the latest Concluding Observations of the UAE and Kuwait, recommending the latter to consider ‘naturalizing those who have lived in Kuwait for long periods and have a genuine and effective link to the State’. 105 It did not raise this issue on Saudi Arabia, although it did mention statelessness as a result of gender discrimination. 106 On Kenya, the Committee urged the state to address its discriminatory procedures towards the Nubian minority such as extensive vetting procedures and ‘to consider awarding Kenyan citizenship to all Nubians who were residing in Kenya on the date of Kenyan independence and their descendants’. 107 Public Authorities and Public Institutions While local officers are pivotal in the administrative practices, discretion to determine the outcome of naturalisation processes — often without judicial oversight — could lead to denial of nationality and the risk of statelessness, especially in situations where a minority group already faces social stigma in their home country. 108 Article 7 of the ICERD stipulates that states should combat 101 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Consideration of Reports Submitted 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 by States Parties under Article 9 of the Convention: Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Croatia, 53rd sess, UN Doc CERD/C/304/Add.55 (10 February 1999) [11], [17]; Concluding Observations: Croatia, UN Doc CERD/C/60/CO/4 (n 100) [100]. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations on the Ninth to Eleventh Periodic Reports of Bosnia and Herzegovina, UN Doc CERD/C/BIH/CO/911 (12 June 2015) [10]. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations on the Combined Seventh to Ninth Periodic Reports of Switzerland, UN Doc CERD/C/CHE/CO/79 (13 March 2014) [13]; Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations on the Seventeenth to Twenty-Second Periodic Reports of Cyprus, Adopted by the Committee at Its Eighty-Third Session, UN Doc CERD/C/CYP/CO/17-22 (23 September 2013) [18]. Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion (n 1) 109–11. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations on the Combined Twenty-First to Twenty-Fourth Periodic Reports of Kuwait, UN Doc CERD/C/KWT/CO/21-24 (25 August 2017) [27]–[28] (‘Concluding Observations: Kuwait’); Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations on the Eighteenth to Twenty-First Periodic Reports of the United Arab Emirates, UN Doc CERD/C/ARE/CO/18-21 (25 August 2017) [27]–[30] (‘Concluding Observations: UAE’); 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: United Arab Emirates, UN Doc CERD/C/ARE/CO/17 (31 August 2009) [17]. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations on the Combined Fourth to Ninth Periodic Reports of Saudi Arabia, UN Doc CERD/C/SAU/CO/49 (8 June 2019) [29] (‘Concluding Observations: Saudi Arabia’). Concluding Observations: Kenya, UN Doc CERD/C/KEN/CO/5-7 (n 74) [27], [29]. De Chickera and Whiteman (n 8) 104. 237