UNHCR Observations on the proposal for a Draft Law amending the
Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Citizenship (Reg. No 20-6597)
I.
Introduction
1. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representation for Northern Europe (RNE)
appreciates the opportunity to present its comments to the proposal for a Draft Law Amending the Law of
the Republic of Lithuania on Citizenship (hereinafter – ‘Law Proposal’).
2. UNHCR offers the following comments in its capacity as the Agency entrusted by the UN General
Assembly with a global mandate to provide protection to stateless persons worldwide and for preventing
and reducing statelessness.1 The General Assembly has specifically requested UNHCR “to provide technical
and advisory services pertaining to the preparation and implementation of nationality legislation to interested
States”.2 It has also entrusted UNHCR with the specific role foreseen in article 11 of the 1961 Convention
on the Reduction of Statelessness. 3
3. Furthermore, UNHCR’s Executive Committee has requested UNHCR to provide technical advice with
respect to nationality legislation and other relevant legislation with a view to ensuring adoption and
implementation of safeguards, consistent with fundamental principles of international law, to prevent the
occurrence of statelessness which results from arbitrary denial or deprivation of nationality.4 It further
requested UNHCR to undertake “targeted activities to support the identification, prevention and reduction
of statelessness and to further the protection of stateless persons”. 5
4. UNHCR thus has a direct interest in national legislation of countries impacting on the prevention or
reduction of statelessness and protection of stateless persons, including implementation of safeguards
contained in international human rights treaties, as well as those set out in the 1954 Convention relating
to the Status of Stateless Persons6 (1954 Convention) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of
Statelessness7 (1964 Convention).
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UN General Assembly, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly, 9
February 1996, A/RES/50/152, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3b00f31d24.html. Reiterated in subsequent
resolutions, inter alia, UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/61/137 of 25 January 2007, available at: available at:
https://www.refworld.org/docid/45fa902d2.html, UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/62/124 of 24 January 2008, available at:
https://www.refworld.org/docid/47b2fa642.html and UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/63/148 of 27 January 2009, available
at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/52fb51bb4.html.
UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/50/152, see above footnote 1, para. 15.
Article 11 of the 1961 Convention provides for the creation of a “body to which a person claiming the benefit of this Convention may apply
for the examination of his claim and for assistance in presenting it to the appropriate authority.”
Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme, Conclusion on Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and
Protection of Stateless Persons No. 106 (LVII) - 2006, 6 October 2006, No. 106 (LVII), paras. (i) and (j), available at:
https://www.refworld.org/docid/453497302.html.
Ibidem, para. (a).
Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas, Lietuvos Respublikos įstatymas dėl Konvencijos dėl pilietybės neturinčių asmenų statuso ratifikavimo VIII1475 1999-12-14, available at: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.92596?jfwid=-y3rq83i2h
Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas, Lietuvos Respublikos įstatymas dėl Jungtinių Tautų konvencijos dėl asmenų be pilietybės skaičiaus mažinimo
ratifikavimo, XII-268 2013-05-09, available at: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.450742?jfwid=-y3rq83if5.