A/HRC/10/34
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67. UNHCR recommended that, where national legislation allows for deprivation of
nationality, States must include safeguards to ensure that such deprivation not be arbitrary. States
should, in particular: (a) establish procedural standards, notably issue reasons in writing and
grant the right to a review to a court or an independent body; and (b) establish substantive
standards, notably prohibit deprivation of nationality based on discriminatory grounds, in
particular on grounds of race, colour, gender, religion, political opinion or national or ethnic
origin; and prohibit deprivation of nationality resulting in statelessness on grounds other than
those foreseen in the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and where such a deprivation
is not in conformity with the principle of proportionality, taking in particular into account the
consequences of statelessness and the quality of the link between State and individual.
68. Furthermore, UNHCR recommended that States must provide effective remedies for all
persons who have been arbitrarily deprived of their nationality, in particular restoration of
nationality, and where applicable, provision of identity documents, correction of registries and
facilitating proof of identity.
69. UNHCR also recommended that States should take all appropriate measures to prevent
arbitrary denial of acquisition of a nationality. States must not deny acquisition of their
nationality based on discriminatory grounds, in particular on grounds of race, colour, gender,
religion, political opinion or national or ethnic origin. States should grant nationality to all
persons born on their territory who would otherwise be stateless.
70. Finally UNHCR urged States, pursuant to resolutions of the General Assembly and Human
Rights Council as well as conclusions of the Executive Committee of UNHCR, to accede to
the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the
Reduction of Statelessness which currently have respectively 63 and 35 States parties. States are
also urged to accede to relevant universal and regional human rights instruments and, where
applicable, to withdraw reservations to provisions on nationality issues.
III. REPLIES RECEIVED FROM NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS
Refugees International
71. Refugees International submitted a series of its recently produced reports, releases and
press articles detailing the situation, inter alia, of stateless Biharis in Bangladesh, of stateless
Biduns in United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, of stateless Kurds in the Syrian Arab Republic, of
stateless persons in Senegal, of undocumented children in Malaysia, of stateless persons in
Kyrgyzstan, and of stateless persons in the Dominican Republic. Refugees International also
submitted its report, “Lives on hold: the human cost of statelessness”, which highlights
protracted cases of statelessness in Bangladesh, Estonia and the United Arab Emirates.
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