A/HRC/10/34
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general call for submission of information on status within the time frame determined in the call;
when a Bosnian national is sentenced in or outside the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a
criminal offence including smuggling arms or explosives.
11. The Government indicated that article 5 of the Law on Citizenship regulates the acquisition
of citizenship by descent, by birth on Bosnian territory, by adoption, by naturalization and by
international agreement.
Bulgaria
12. The Government of Bulgaria stated that article 25.3 of the Constitution expressly prohibits
the arbitrary deprivation of nationality of Bulgarian citizens. In article 25.1 the Constitution
provides that any person, whereof at least one of the parents is a Bulgarian citizen, or who has
been born in Bulgaria, shall be a Bulgarian citizen unless acquiring another citizenship by
descent. Bulgarian citizenship may also be acquired by naturalization. The Bulgarian Citizenship
Act stipulates that any Bulgarian citizens who are permanently residing abroad may request to be
released from Bulgarian citizenship if they have acquired another nationality or if there is
information showing that a procedure of acquisition of a foreign nationality has been initiated.
13. According to the Government, the Citizenship Act states that Bulgarian citizenship
acquired through naturalization may be revoked if persons have supplied false information to
obtain it. Revocation of the naturalization of one of the spouses shall not revoke the
naturalization of the other spouse or children, unless citizenship was likewise obtained on the
grounds of false information. The Government also indicated that the Law provides that any
person who has acquired Bulgarian citizenship through naturalization may be deprived of it if the
person has been sentenced for a grave crime committed against Bulgaria, subject to the condition
that the person is abroad and does not become stateless.
Burkina Faso
14. The Government of Burkina Faso stated that article 135 of the Persons and Family Code
indicates that provisions relating to nationality contained in international treaties ratified by
Burkina Faso are applicable, even if they are contrary to provisions of internal law. The
Government stated that, according to Title V of the Persons and Family Code, Burkinabe
citizenship may be acquired by birth; by marriage, in which case a stateless person cannot
decline Burkinabe citizenship; and in the case of persons born to foreign parents, who can
obtain Burkinabe nationality at the legal majority age if they have resided in Burkina Faso for
the last five years.
15. The Government reported that the situations leading to deprivation of nationality are
limited. Article 170 of the Persons and Family Code states that persons shall not be naturalized if
they do not have good morals; if they have been convicted to more than one year’s imprisonment
and are not subject to rehabilitation or amnesty for a common-law crime; if they are not mentally
healthy; or in the case of entrepreneurs, if they do not submit proof of important investments.
According to article 189, loss of nationality can be declared if persons have been convicted of a
crime against the internal or external security of the State; have been convicted for an act
qualified as a crime against the institutions of Burkina Faso; have carried out for the benefit of a
foreign country acts which are incompatible or damaging to Burkina Faso’s interests; have been