Cassadee Orinthia YAN International Comparative Jurisprudence. 2024, 10(1):94-111. 2. The human rights infringed by a lack of citizenship The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981; hereinafter – the African Charter), Chapter 4 of the Constitution of Kenya, and Chapter 2 of the Constitution of South Africa give various rights to all people, the infringement of which results in tangible life consequences for victims. Therefore, the protection of these rights is very important. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides for the protection of human rights and the substantial exercise of these rights in various aspects of life. To expound on this, the African Charter provides for the exercise of personal rights even to minority groups. The UN declaration also obligates member states to allow minorities to participate in the economic and political progress of a nation, while at the same time requiring that a state should provide an environment that allows the development of culture and heritage. Stateless persons are denied the privileges set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The rights provided for by international treaties are designed to protect the rights of minority groups, including stateless individuals. The enforcement of these rights is sometimes a challenge since the declarations do not bind nonmember states. However, these statutes are important since they provide a basis in the implementation of human rights. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights allows countries to become aware of the minority groups within their borders and grant them their rights under the document. Stateless people are faced with infringements of their basic rights. The most commonly infringed human rights include freedom from discrimination, which is provided for under Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 2 of the African Charter, Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1966) and Article 2 of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (1958). Under the Constitution of Kenya (2010), Article 27 gives all people the right to equality and freedom from discrimination, and the same applies to Articles 9–11 of the South African Constitution (1996). International law requires that every person is protected against discrimination, irrespective of their nationality. Subsequently, through the principles of international law, states parties are obliged to remove all discriminatory barriers and ensure the equality of all persons in all spheres of life (Opiyo, 2017). A core tenet of human rights is that, as a matter of principle, no human being should be rendered a stateless person, as statelessness limits the enjoyment of human rights. The vulnerability that comes from being stateless can lead to the expulsion of an individual from a country and from their habitual place of residence (Batchelor, 1998). The statelessness of marginalized persons has been raised in courts of law in a number of cases that set precedents that contribute to the adjudication of such matters. This section discusses several cases that have been decided in Kenya and South Africa, and also reviews cases that have been discussed in international forums. Case law associated with human rights is crucial in the transformation and formulation of social progress. The litigation of these cases has become an important tool in the interpretation, promotion, and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms. The case of the Nubian community in Kenya v. Kenya, as referred to by Songa (2021), was fundamental for the parties concerned. This case was lodged by the Open Justice Initiative before the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (hereinafter – African Commission). The dispute revolved around the question of the origin of the Nubian community, despite them having lived in Kenya for over a century. Members of the Nubian community faced challenges in attaining citizenship and related identification documents despite having being born in Kenya. When the complaint was lodged, there were over 100,000 Nubians in Kenya (Open Society Justice Initiative, n.d.). The origins of the Nubian community are in Sudan, and they were brought to Kenya as soldiers by the British government under colonial rule. These community members were not taken back to their homes, and most ended 99