International Legal Framework naturalization may be overtly discriminatory, or procedural requirements may pose discriminatory barriers. As naturalization procedures are generally discretionary in nature, there is a greater risk that discrimination can play a role. Nationality alone is not a cure for the stigmatization and discrimination faced by minority groups6 rendered stateless on the basis of race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, or other grounds. Statelessness intersects with and exacerbates barriers already faced by minority populations and other disadvantaged groups. The cycle of exclusion and marginalization that statelessness reinforces, impedes access to services and prevents the enjoyment of human rights, sometimes afflicting entire communities for generations. However, nationality is generally crucial to the full and equal exercise of human rights and freedoms. Under international law, a State’s nationality law must be consistent with international human rights law,7 which as discussed below, generally prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds covered in this background note. International Legal Framework The right to a nationality and the principle of non-discrimination in nationality matters are well established in international human rights law.8 The 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) and 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention) establish States parties’ obligations to work on a non-discriminatory basis toward the prevention and reduction of statelessness within their territories. The 1961 Convention contains an explicit prohibition on deprivation of nationality on racial, religious or political grounds.9 Statelessness negatively impacts on rights that are protected in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Individuals and communities affected by statelessness are often unable to exercise the fundamental rights protected by these treaties, such as liberty of movement and the right to marry in the ICCPR, or the right to employment and medical care in the ICESCR. In addition to the protections set out in the ICCPR and ICESCR which apply to everyone, the international community has recognized that certain groups require specific protection due to persistent inequality or 6 7 8 9 See United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, 3 February 1992, A/RES/47/135, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b38d0. html. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), OHCHR and the right to a nationality, available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/Nationality.aspx. For example, article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to a nationality, and articles 2 and 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provide for non-discrimination and every child’s right to acquire a nationality, respectively. See Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNGA Res. 217 A(III) (UDHR), art. 15 and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 999 UNTS 171, (ICCPR), arts. 2 and 24. Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 989 UNTS 175, (1961 Convention), art. 9. U N H C R > B AC KG R O U N D N OT E O N D I S C R I M I N AT I O N I N N AT I O N A L I T Y L AW S A N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S 5