Nationality and Cases of Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa 3.3.1. Voluntary renunciation of nationality Where someone chooses to give up their nationality, at their own initiative, this is termed “renunciation”. The principal reason that a person would voluntarily renounce their nationality is because they have acquired – or are in the process of acquiring – a different nationality, i.e. in the context of a change of nationality. People are sometimes also motivated by other circumstances to renounce, for instance in order to avoid certain duties which are attached to their nationality (commonly taxes or military obligations) or for personal or political reasons. While voluntary renunciation of nationality is an act initiated by the individual, it is the state which sets the conditions under which this is possible, by laying these down in its nationality law. When assessing these rules in the MENA region, the first thing to note is that not all countries explicitly foresee the possibility of renunciation of nationality. Given that the law remains entirely silent on this point in the countries concerned, it is unclear how these states would respond to an individual’s request to renounce his or her nationality. In a number of them, the point is arguably resolved by a different but related provision in the law which sets out that, where a person acquires a foreign nationality, their old nationality is automatically lost through this act. In other words, the 114