ADDRESSING STATELESSNESS THROUGH THE RULE OF LAW 4. WHY THE RULE OF LAW AND STATELESSNESS MATTER FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Sustainable development is defined as broad social, economic and environmental change “that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”35 The rule of law advances the three pillars of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental.36 By ensuring equal opportunity and equitable access to basic services, it promotes social justice;37 by providing stable and transparent legal regimes, the rule of law encourages economic development;38 by strengthening laws to protect the natural environment and ensure proper management of land and resources, it ensures environmental sustainability.39 The rule of law also reinforces the interlinkage with sustainable development through calls for legal and institutional reforms, protection of rights, and legal empowerment of the most vulnerable and excluded.40 At the 2012 High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law, Member States noted that “the advancement of the rule of law at the national and international levels is essential for sustained and inclusive economic growth, sustainable development, the eradication of poverty and hunger and the full realisation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, all of which in turn reinforce the rule of law”.41 The 2030 Agenda is the primary vehicle through which the UN seeks to deliver its human-rights based vision for sustainable development.42 The overarching aim of the 2030 Agenda to “reach the furthest behind first” and “leave no one behind” seems particularly relevant to those who experience the many negative consequences of not being recognised 12 as citizens of any country. The very existence of statelessness is at odds with the aspirations of sustainable development, and the reduction of statelessness is vital to delivering sustainable development for all. The principles of the rule of law are embedded throughout the 2030 Agenda,43 and especially Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 44 which aims to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. SDG 16 enables realisation of all other SDGs, as strengthened rule of law can have broad catalytic effects on progress toward sustainable development. Target 16.3 commits States to deliver equal access to justice, which could dramatically improve the lives of stateless persons. At the national level, the rule of law is necessary to create an environment conducive to eradicating poverty and protecting basic rights. It fosters development through strengthening the voices of people and communities, by providing access to justice and remedies for the violation of rights, and by establishing mechanisms for the non-violent resolution of conflicts. The rule of law is also specifically relevant to the UN legal identity agenda. As enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments, everyone has a right to be recognised as a person before the law through legal identity, or “the basic characteristics of an individual’s identity, e.g. name, sex, place and date of birth conferred through registration and the issuance of a certificate by an authorised civil registration authority following the occurrence of birth.”45 SDG target 16.9 (“legal identity for all, including birth registration, by 2030”) commits States to achieve universal legal identity, which is relevant to efforts towards the prevention and reduction of statelessness through the provision of birth registration and, in certain cases, nationality documentation. In addition to SDG 16, other SDGs with direct relevance to the identification and resolution of existing cases of statelessness and the prevention of new ones from occurring are SDG 5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), 10 (reduce inequality within and among countries), and 17 (strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development). SDG target 17.19 (support to statistical capacity-building to ensure countries achieve 100% birth registration) is another key target for ensuring that no one is left behind.