Legal briefing: Statelessness and the prohibition on discrimination against Romani communities • • • • • • April 2023 The 1961 Convention protects people from being discriminatorily deprived of their nationality “on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds”, which applies regardless of whether statelessness results or not from the deprivation; 10 The European Convention on Nationality provides that nationality rules must not contain distinctions or include any practice which amount to discrimination on the grounds of sex, religion, race, colour or national or ethnic origin, and establishes the principle of non-discrimination between nationals; 11 The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) has an explicit reference to the prohibition on discrimination with regard to the right to nationality.12 Deprivation of nationality based on race is also prohibited under customary international law; 13 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) also stipulates that States must “grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality” as well as equal rights regarding their children’s nationality; 14 The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) sets out an obligation for States to guarantee the right of persons with disabilities to acquire a nationality and not be deprived of it on account of their disability; 15 The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides that the rights set forth in the Covenant, including a child’s right to a nationality, must be exercised regardless of the children’s or their parents’ race, colour, or ethnic or social origin. 16 1.2. Discrimination in the enjoyment of fundamental rights The principle of non-discrimination may also apply to ensure that stateless people have equal access to and enjoyment of their fundamental rights, and that they are not discriminated against on the basis of their statelessness, or of any protected grounds. Some of the relevant provisions in international law include: • • The 1954 Convention refers to the principle of non-discrimination and provides that its provisions must be applied without discrimination on the grounds of race, religion or country of origin; The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) requires States to respect and ensure that individuals enjoy the rights contained in the Covenant without distinction on the basis of several protected grounds, including race, sex, language, or social origin. It “not only entitles all persons to equality before the law as well as equal protection of the law but also prohibits any discrimination UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (2020), HCR/GS/20/05, §77. 11 European Convention on Nationality, Article 5. 12 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Article 5(d)(iii). 13 UNHCR, Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons (2014), §55. 14 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Article 9. 15 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 18. 16 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 2, 3, 7 and 8. 10 4