IV. International legal framework and OSCE commitments 2012 Ljubljana Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies 32. An inclusive and non-discriminatory citizenship policy is an important aspect of integration policy. In addition, citizenship also has a symbolic value as a signal of common belonging on the part of both the holder and the granter of citizenship. 33. Citizenship is in the competence of the State and should be based on a genuine link of the individual to the State. Nevertheless, contemporary developments set clear and increasing limits to States’ discretion in formulating policies regarding access to and stripping of citizenship, including prohibiting discrimination when conferring citizenship. 34. Citizenship is a human right and everyone has the right to a citizenship. In particular, laws should not generate statelessness at birth, regardless of the source of statelessness. 35. States should consider granting citizenship to persons who have been de jure or de facto stateless for a considerable amount of time, even when other objective grounds may not be present. 36. Policies that foresee privileged access to citizenship to individuals abroad based on cultural, historical or familial ties should ensure respect for the principles of friendly, including good neighbourly, relations and territorial sovereignty. Such policies should be designed so as to avoid creating ambiguities in relation to jurisdiction. Protecting the rights of minorities is primarily the obligation of the State in which they reside.53 Next page: Kyrgyzstan. This man, like thousands of other stateless people in the country, has only an expired Soviet passport. He was photographed in the rural office of a local NGO providing advice how to get Kyrgyz citizenship. © UNHCR/ Alimzhan Zhorobaev 39