of an enemy country, or if a person endangers state security. 4 However, Statelessness
in Bahrain is primarily driven by various forms of discrimination, including gender, race,
and ethnicity. According to a report by Salam for Democracy and Human Rights, there
are around 500 stateless persons of Persian descent in Bahrain, known as the (Ajam
group). Since 2012, the Bahraini government has revoked the Nationality of hundreds of
individuals through executive orders, royal decrees, and Court decisions, rendering
many of them stateless. This practice has been widely criticized and condemned as
arbitrary and oppressive, used primarily to suppress dissent and consolidate power.
Currently, 434 individuals remain stateless due to Nationality revocation 5
1.1 The Report Purpose
This report will delve thoroughly into the social aspects of statelessness in Bahrain,
namely how revocation of nationality and born statelessness affect identity and
belonging. The report demonstrates how the revocation of nationalities affects HRDs
and activists’ ability to pursue their activism. The available material online reflects the
impact of depriving individuals of nationality on individuals’ fundamental rights in
Bahrain. Also, it illustrates the political motivation of the government to suppress
pro-democracy and human rights movements in the country.
1.2 The Report Legal Framework Methodology
The report uses a qualitative approach, drawing on a recent publication on the loss of
identity in stateless societies. This report referred to and relied on desk reviews of
previous publications on statelessness in Bahrain, articles focusing on the right to
nationality from the Bahrain Constitution, and several international conventions, such
as international law, international customary law, and international guidelines on the
right to citizenship. This report is conducted through Semi-Structured Online
4 CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN. (n.d.). In Article 17 a. Bahraini Nationality Shall Be
Determined by Law. A Person Inherently Enjoying His Bahraini Nationality Cannot Be Stripped of His
Nationality Except in Case of Treason, and Such Other Cases as Prescribed by Law. B. It Is Prohibited to
Banish a Citizen From Bahrain or Prevent Him From Returning to It.
5 Bahrain | Stateless Hub. (n.d.-b).
https://www.statelesshub.org/country/bahrain#:~:text=Statelessness%20in%20Bahrain%20is%20
most%20often%20caused%20and,via%20executive%20ohttps://www.statelesshub.org/country/
bahrain#:~:text=Statelessness%20in%20Bahrain%20is%20most%20often%20caused%20and,via%20
executive%20order%2C%20royal%20decrees%20or%20court%20decisions.rder%2C%20royal%20
.decrees%20or%20court%20decisions
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