Principle 3: The right to a nationality PRINCIPLE LEGAL STANDARD 3.1. Every person has the right to a nationality. 3.2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality nor denied the right to change their nationality. UDHR, Art. 15: “ . Everyone has the right to a nationality. . No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality. ICCPR, Art. 24(3): “Every child has the right to acquire a nationality. 19. International law explicitly provides for the right to nationality as well as the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality. The right of everyone to a nationality was first stated in Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).32 The right of every individual to a nationality, including the right to retain and change nationality has since been enshrined in various international human rights treaties and regional instruments, including: CERD, Art. 5(d)(iii); CEDAW, Art. 9; CRC, Arts. 7 and 8; ACHR, Art. 20; ECN, Art. 4; Arab Charter on Human Rights, Art. 24; Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam, Art. 7; ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, para. 18; CIS Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Art. 24. 20. Although all persons are equal under the law and entitled to human rights, the right to a nationality often acts as an enabling right, and its enjoyment plays a central role in the recognition, protection, fulfilment, and respect of the full range of other human rights.33 Bar some exceptions, e.g. Article 25 and Article 12(1) ICCPR, ICCPR human rights apply ordinarily to everyone irrespective of nationality or immigration status, without discrimination. As outlined in CEDAW General Recommendation No. 21 on Article 9, “ n ationality is critical to full participation in society .34 Similarly, the African regional bodies have repeatedly noted that “[t]he specific right to legal status protected under Article of the Charter is … the guarantee of an obligation incumbent on every State Party to the Charter to recognize for an individual, a human being, the capacity to enjoy rights and exercise obligations…nationality is an intrinsic component of this right, since it is the legal and socio-political manifestation of the right. 35 For example, without nationality, individuals are deprived of the right to vote or to stand for public office, and they may be denied access to public benefits. 21. The right to nationality exists in close relation to the duty to avoid statelessness; avoidance of statelessness is a “corollary to the right to a nationality.36 The object and purpose of the 1961 Convention is to prevent and reduce statelessness, thereby ensuring every individual’s right to a 32 The UDHR is recognized as part of customary international law. See ACtHPR, Anudo v Tanzania (2018), Application no. 012/2015. See HRC, ‘Human Rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: Report of the Secretary-General’, A HRC , available at: https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/19/43 34 CEDAW, ‘General Recommendation No. : Equality in Marriage and Family Relations’ HRI GEN Rev. p. , para 6. 35 ACtHPR, Robert John Penessis vs United Republic of Tanzania, Application No 013/2015, Para 89 citing ACHPR Open Society Justice Initiative v Cote d’Ivoire, 318/06 (2016). 36 UN Human Rights Council UNHRC , ‘Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: Report of the Secretary-General’, A HRC (2013), available at: http://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/25/28http://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/25/28, p. 3; see also the commentary on Principle 5 below. 33 27