creation of new States (including further to the break-up of the former Soviet Union, for example). Co-submitting partners also observe cases of stateless Palestinians, Rohingya and former USSR citizens and their children in the Netherlands. 8. In the Netherlands, access to and enjoyment of human rights depends on whether a person has lawful residence in the country, their registered nationality status (i.e., ‘stateless’ or ‘nationality unknown’) and what type of residence permit they are issued.11 Within the current framework, stateless people who do not have lawful residence are unable to have their statelessness adequately registered, and experience substantial difficulties accessing the rights accorded to them under the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention). 9. A legislative proposal to introduce an SDP (see Issue II)12 and another proposal to amend the Dutch Nationality Act to expand the ‘option procedure’ for stateless children born in the Netherlands without a residence permit as a facilitated pathway to acquire Dutch nationality (see Issue I)13 are scheduled for plenary debates in week 14 of 2022 (4 April to 8 April). The co-submitting partners welcome the plenary debate on the proposed bills but urge the Dutch Government to amend the bills taking into consideration the concerns expressed in this submission. 10. The co-submitting organisations are also concerned that the issues addressed in this submission are exacerbated in relation to particularly vulnerable groups or minoritized communities including children, women, and the Romani community, and urge the Netherlands to respect the principle of non-discrimination. The COVID-19 pandemic has also increased socio-economic exclusion. Stateless people have mentioned how they were affected by loss of informal employment, working whilst sick and without adequate protection from disease, and were unable to access government pandemic employment assistance and non-emergency or “medically necessary” healthcare. Many also described the difficulties in supporting continued home-schooling for children due to the lack of space, access to laptops, and internet.14 Issue I: Children’s right to nationality 11. The Netherlands has recognised the importance of every child’s right to a nationality by acceding to the instruments mentioned in the above section on international obligations.15 Consequently, clear and accessible nationality determination procedures 11 Justitiele Verkenningen (2018) Staatloosheid als moderne vorm van uitsluiting, pp. 99-116 https://repository.wodc.nl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12832/805/JV1802_Volledige_tekst_tcm28327814.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y 12 Tweede Kamer der Staten generaal, Wet vaststellingsprocedure staatloosheid, https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/wetsvoorstellen/detail?cfg=wetsvoorsteldetails&qry=wetsvoorstel%3A35687. 13 Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal, Wijziging van de Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap en de Paspoortwet alsmede intrekking van voorbehouden bij het Verdrag betreffende de status van staatlozen in verband met de vaststelling van staatloosheid, https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/wetsvoorstellen/detail?cfg=wetsvoorsteldetails&qry=wetsvoorstel%3A35688%28 R2151%29#activity-2020a06315. 14 European Network on Statelessness, Situation assessment of statelessness, health, and COVID-19 in Europe, April 2021, https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/default/files/2021-04/ENS_Health_Situation_Assessment_Europe.pdf, 15 E.g. Art. 7 & 8 CRC, Art. 24(3) ICCPR, Arts. 1-4 1961 Convention; see also UNCHR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/50d460c72.html; Joint general comment No. 4 of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of 3