THIS CHAPTER LOOKS MORE CLOSELY AT RIGHT TO NATIONALITY, DOCUMENTATION AND LEGAL STATUS; RIGHT TO HEALTH; SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS; CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS,4 AND MAKES THE FOLLOWING CALL TO ACTION TO THE GOVERNMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS: INDIA There is a crisis of statelessness in Assam, India. In August 2019, 1.9 million people were deemed ‘non-citizens’ and deprived of their nationality following the arbitrary and highly discriminatory NRC5 which sought to remove the names of alleged undocumented migrants from the voters list and update the National Registry of Citizens, predominantly targeting Muslims and Hindus of Bengali ethnicity.6 There has lamophobic sentiment exacerbated by the pandemic.7 Those excluded can appeal to quasi-judicial bodies or foreigner tribunals, tasked with determining the nationality of those with disputed citizenship8 and have the ultimate power to declare a person a ‘foreigner’. As of December 2019, more than 110,000 individuals had been declared foreigners and more than 1000 arbitrarily detained.9 There are other cases of statelessness in India including the long-standing situation of the Chakma and Hajong communities who arrived in India as refugees from the CHT of Bangladesh in the 1960s. These communities have few resources and have been affected by the loss of employment due to the pandemic. It was only with intervention of highest authorities that the local administration included them in COVID-19 response, and they were given access to food.10 There are also many Rohingya persecution in Myanmar.11 Stateless persons in India’s Assam tend to live in poverty, in remote areas such as riverbanks increases the risk of exposure to COVID-19, putting an already vulnerable population at further risk. In Assam, most of those excluded from the NRC live in poverty and have been neglected and excluded from COVID-19 state relief and recovery efforts. By mid-April 2021, the second wave in India was reporting more than 300,000 cases everyday - the highest number of daily cases reported by any country. As of 25 May 2021, there have been a total of 27,157,795 cases and 311,421 deaths.12 RIGHT TO NATIONALITY, DOCUMENTATION AND LEGAL STATUS The NRC process has had devastating impacts on those living in Assam. After publishing the results of the NRC, the process has been put on hold. The government had announced that the NRC excluded can appeal their exclusion at the FTs, but this process has not yet started even after 22 months, leaving the 1.9 million excluded in a state of limbo, with no forum for appeal. Further, access to legal aid has also been disrupted due to the pandemic as the FTs stopped functioning from April-June 2020. However, from July onwards the FTs began sending notices to register new cases and re-action pending cases. During the second wave of April 2021, the FTs have also continued to issue notices. The combined consequences of COVID-19 with the requirement to appear before the FTs and - RIGHT TO HEALTH Access to vital public healthcare services have been hindered by movement restrictions and lack of documentation. Private healthcare services are inaccessible due to high costs and government hospitals which are farther from communities, are harder to access. Those declared ‘foreigners’ by the FTs in Assam, have limited access to healthcare, and the resourcless ability to afford healthcare. Access to PPE is not possible for all,13 and the stateless often avoid seeking medical attention from government hospitals or clinics for fear of contact with the authorities. The vaccination programme was rolled out in mid-January 2021. Initially, India used domestically produced vaccines but as the second wave hit the country there was an acute shortage and the government started importing vaccines. By 25 April, India provided more than 139 million persons with at least one the population, one of the lowest rates of vaccination distribution in the world.14 To receive the vaccine, individuals must show their Aadhar ID card which is a barrier for refugees and stateless persons who often do not have these documents. Further, the stateless and those declared foreigners have also not been explicitly included in India’s vaccination plan. SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS Exclusion from Emergency Relief: The stateless in India have not received economic relief packages provided by the government for a number of reasons including not having a bank account or proof of citizenship. COVID-19 has trarily denied their right to citizenship through the NRC process and those declared foreigners by the FTs. While the Indian government created welfare packages for struggling low-income earners, farmers, the homeless and migrant workers, none of these initiatives apply to declared foreigners. Once a person is categorized as a ‘declared foreigner’ their ration cards are cancelled. ENSURE FREE AND EQUAL ACCESS TO COVID-19 VACCINATIONS TO ALL PEOPLE ON THE TERRITORY, INCLUDING STATELESS PEOPLE AND REFUGEES, WITHOUT REQUIRING A NATIONAL ID CARD. IDENTIFY AND REACH STATELESS PEOPLE AND OTHER VULNERABLE AND OVERLOOKED GROUPS, THROUGH ALL STATE AND HUMANITARIAN RESPONSES TO COVID-19, TO PROVIDE THEM WITH CRITICAL INFORMATION, HEALTHCARE AND RELIEF. IMMEDIATELY STOP THE NATIONAL REGISTRATION OF CITIZENS PROCESS, THE DETENTION OF THOSE DECLARED ‘FOREIGNERS’, BURDENSOME POLICE REPORTING PROCEDURES FOR RELEASED DETAINEES AND TAKE STEPS TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO THEIR INCLUSION IN SOCIAL WELFARE AND RELIEF PROGRAMMES. IMMEDIATELY CEASE EFFORTS TO DEPORT REFUGEES AND STATELESS PEOPLE. UN AGENCIES SHOULD QUESTION AND RESPOND TO HARMFUL AND DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES WHICH VIOLATE HUMAN RIGHTS AND INCREASE THE RISK OF STATELESSNESS FOR CERTAIN GROUPS. Lost Livelihoods: The pandemic induced lockdown and the subsequent economic crisis has severely impacted the livelihoods of stateless persons. The disenfranchised of Assam tend to work in the informal sector, but during the lockdowns, access to these types of employment has been severely restricted. Those who sell goods in markets for example were no longer able to trade resulting in the total loss of their income.15 CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS Arbitrary Detention: In order to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19 and prevent overcrowding in jails the Supreme Court16 ordered the release of certain class of prisoners. In Assam through another order the Court ordered that those declared foreigners who had already completed two years of detention be released on bond, with weekly reporting requirements at the nearest police station.17 Mandatory reporting 21