and the UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality
provide important clarification, 21 respectively from a wider international law
perspective and more specifically in relation to the 1961 Convention.
40. Accordingly, state discretion in this area is subject to the individual right to nationality,22
the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality, 23 the prohibition of
discrimination 24 and the obligation to avoid statelessness. 25 In this regard, the UN
Special Rapporteur on racism has stated that:
“States' obligations to ensure equality and non-discrimination with regards to
the enjoyment of nationality apply with regard to all citizenship deprivation
decisions, not only in cases where deprivation of citizenship might result in
statelessness.”26
41. The impact of nationality deprivation on the enjoyment of other human rights,
humanitarian and refugee law obligations and standards must be taken into
consideration when assessing the legality of citizenship deprivation. These include the
right to enter and remain in one’s own country, the prohibition of refoulement, the
prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the
liberty and security of the person, the right to private and family life, legal personhood
and the rights of the child.27 Any measures to deprive a person of nationality must also
comply with due process safeguards and the right to a fair trial.28
Children’s right to nationality
42. Tanzania’s nationality laws give equal rights to men and women to transmit nationality
to their children, and the state is one of the African states that provides, on the face of
it, jus soli acquisition of nationality. However, official practice runs contrary to the
provision of the nationality law. Authorities regularly apply a combination of jus soli and
jus sanguinis citizenship acquisition for children born in the territory, requiring at least
all situations in which States take or consider taking steps to deprive a person of nationality as a national security measure.
More information is available here: https://www.institutesi.org/year-of-actionresources/principles-on-deprivation-ofnationality.
21
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under
Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, May 2020, HCR/GS/20/05, available at:
https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ec5640c4.html. The Guidelines provide authoritative guidance on the interpretation of
Articles 5 – 9 of the1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. They draw on the Summary Conclusions of the Expert
Meeting on Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention and Avoiding Statelessness Resulting from Loss and Deprivation
held in Tunis, Tunisia on 31 October-1.
22 Human Rights Council Resolution 7/10, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, UN Doc A/HRC/RES/7/10 (27
March 2008); Human Rights Council Resolution 10/13, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, UN Doc
A/HRC/RES/10/13 (26 March 2009); Human Rights Council Resolution 13/2, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of
nationality, UN Doc A/HRC/RES/13/2 (24 April 2010); Human Rights Council Resolution 20/4, The right to a nationality: women
and children, UN Doc A/HRC/RES/20/4 (16 July 2012); Human Rights Council Resolution 20/5, Human rights and arbitrary
deprivation of nationality, UN Doc A/HRC/RES/20/5 (16 July 2012); Human Rights Council Resolution 26/14, Human rights and
arbitrary deprivation of nationality, UN Doc A/HRC/RES/26/14 (11 July 2014); Human Rights Council Resolution 32/5, Human
rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, UN Doc A/HRC/RES/32/5 (15 July 2016).
23 Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure, March 2020. Available at:
https://files.institutesi.org/PRINCIPLES.pdf, Principle 7. See also, the Draft Commentary to the Principles, available at:
https://files.institutesi.org/PRINCIPLES_Draft_Commentary.pdf.
24 Ibid., Principle 6.
25 Ibid., Principle 5.
26
UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, ‘ Amicus
Brief before the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service’ (23 October 2018).
27 Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure, March 2020. Available at:
https://files.institutesi.org/PRINCIPLES.pdf, Principle 9.
28
Ibid Principle 8.
9