ChaChapter 1: Nationality and Statelessness
obligations and some of the material which is used
in the review process is included in the analysis in the
forthcoming chapters. Moreover, under the auspices
of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, a
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) procedure has been
established whereby all states are held to account
for their law, policy and action in all areas of human
rights. This process, too, provides a welcome insight
into where states could be improving their response
to nationality questions and statelessness. At the
regional level, it should be noted that the majority of
instruments that are relevant to MENA states are not
accompanied by a formal supervisory mechanism –
with the exception of those adopted by the African
Union and applicable to a number of the countries
in North Africa – severely limiting the opportunities
for in-region monitoring of states’ human rights
commitments.43
A final issue to raise in the context of the international
framework relating to statelessness is the role of the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR). As will become apparent over
the course of this report, UNHCR is a significant source
of information on statelessness and of guidance
concerning how this phenomenon could or should
43 - The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, for instance,
has a Committee of Experts
39
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