Article 15(1) with the language in Article 15(2) that encapsulates the prohibition (i.e., “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality”).11 As early as June 1948, it was the UK’s view that the prohibition on the arbitrary deprivation of nationality deserved inclusion in “a declaration of general principles which were to be of significance for a long time to come”, instead of the right to nationality.12 The Indian representative expressed the view that the right not to be deprived of nationality was “the fundamental right”.13 Consistent with these views, the Committee adopted that aspect of Article 15(2) unanimously.14 D. The evolution of the prohibition under international law 10. Following the adoption of Article 15(2) of the UDHR, the prohibition against the arbitrary deprivation of nationality has been variously expressed in a number of treaties. All of the principal global human rights treaties implicitly recognise the prohibition by proscribing discrimination on various grounds in respect of the right to nationality.15 More recent treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, recognise the prohibition in express terms.16 A significant number of regional human rights treaties contain a similar prohibition, often replicating the language of Article 15(2) of the UDHR.17 More specifically, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, to which the UK is a party, explicitly prohibits a State from exercising powers of deprivation causing statelessness, unless certain conditions are met (including the right to a fair hearing, as ‘India and the United Kingdom: Proposed Amendments to the Draft Declaration of Human Rights’, UN Doc. E/CN.4/99, 24 May 1948, p. 4 (Article 15). The United Kingdom also made a substantial contribution to the drafting of the two related treaties that followed Article 15(2) of the UDHR, namely the 1954 Convention on Statelessness and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. See G. Goodwin-Gill, ‘Mr Al-Jedda, Deprivation of Citizenship, and International Law’ (2014), pp. 2-5, available online at: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/jointcommittees/human-rights/GSGG-DeprivationCitizenshipRevDft.pdf. 11 3rd Committee, 3rd Session, Summary Record of the 59th Meeting, UN Doc. E/CN.4/SR.59, 4 June 1948, p. 10 (Mr Wilson, UK). Mr Wilson explained “States should not arbitrarily refuse to grant their protection to people who were their citizens.” 12 3rd Committee, 3rd Session, Summary Record of the 60th Meeting, UN Doc. E/CN.4/SR.60, 4 June 1948, p. 4 (Mrs Mehta, India). 13 3rd Committee, 3rd Session, 124th Meeting, UN Doc. A/C.3/SR.124, 6 November 1948, p. 361 (note that, at that time, Article 15 was numbered as Article 13). 14 See Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (1957) 309 UNTS 65, Articles 1-2; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) 660 UNTS 195, Article 5(d)(iii); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) 1249 UNTS 13, Article 9(1); Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) 1577 UNTS 3, Article 8(1). See also International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) 999 UNTS 171, Article 24(3). 15 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) 2515 UNTS 3, Article 18(1)(“ … ensuring that persons with disabilities: … (a) Have the right to acquire and change a nationality and are not deprived of their nationality arbitrarily or on the basis of disability.”) 16 American Convention on Human Rights (1969), Article 20(3) (“No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality or of the right to change it”); Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1995), Article 24(2) (“No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his citizenship or of the right to change it”); European Convention on Nationality (1997), Article 4(c) (“No one should be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality”); Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights (2004), Article 29(1) (“Every person has the right to a nationality, and no citizen shall be deprived of his nationality without a legally valid reason”); ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (2012), Article 18 (“No person shall be arbitrarily deprived of such nationality nor denied the right to change that nationality”). See also African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 234: Resolution on the Right to Nationality, 23 April 2013. 17 4