2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(2) under art 5 have become so fundamental that they are, in practice, being regarded as normative standards on their own. 22 1 Grounds of Protection The grounds on which states should not discriminate under the ICERD are identified in art 1(1) as ‘race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin’. These grounds are all grouped under the umbrella term ‘racial discrimination’, although in practice, the Committee does not always state clearly on which particular ground it deems a certain practice or policy discriminatory. 23 These grounds are not limited to race or ethnicity alone, but extend to a broader notion of background. 24 For instance, the Committee has specifically mentioned the link between racial discrimination and discrimination based on religion, 25 and has emphasised that states should pay particular attention to possible ‘complex forms of disadvantage’, when racial discrimination is combined with other grounds not necessarily covered by the ICERD, such as sex and gender. 26 This is particularly relevant for statelessness, which is more often than not grounded in a mix of various causes. For instance, women from minority groups could experience double discrimination, and be more vulnerable to nationality issues. In art 5, a listing of protected grounds similar to the one in art 1 is provided. Worth noting is the absence of ‘descent’ as one of the grounds in which states ought not discriminate. While absent in this article, the Committee made clear in its General Recommendation No 29 that it considers it a protected ground on par with ‘race, colour, or national or ethnic origin’, and that in this also includes ‘social stratifications’ such as caste, other ‘analogous systems of inherited status’, and religion. 27 2 Article 1(3) on Nationality and the Domaine Réservé From the outset, the right to nationality was not undisputed. Article 1(3) stipulates that ‘legal provisions of States Parties concerning nationality, citizenship or naturalization’ fall within the reserved domain of sovereign states, however ‘provided that such provisions do not discriminate against any particular nationality’. 28 The right to nationality was not extensively discussed in the preparatory works and was initially intended, as argued by Egon Schwelb, only to 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Thornberry (n 19) 393. Keane and Waughray (n 12) 8. Thornberry (n 19) 119–20, 136. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Guidelines for the CERD-Specific Document to be Submitted by State Parties under Article 9, Paragraph 1, of the Convention, UN Doc CERD/C/2007/1 (13 June 2008) (‘SRG’) [19] art 5(I)(D)(7). ibid [19] art 5(II)(B). See also Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, General Recommendation No 25: Gender-Related Dimensions of Racial Discrimination, UN Doc CERD/C/GC/25 (20 March 2000) [3] (‘GR 25’). Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, General Recommendation No 29 on article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent), UN Doc A57/18 (1 November 2002) preamble [aa]–[vv]. ICERD (n 3) art (1)(3) reads that: Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as affecting in any way the legal provisions of States Parties concerning nationality, citizenship or naturalization, provided that such provisions do not discriminate against any particular nationality. 226