Chapter 3. The Council of Europe
– Recommendation on second-generation migrants (1984)585;
– Recommendation on the acquisition by refugees of the nationality of the host
country (1984)586;
– Recommendation on the avoidance and reduction of statelessness (1999)587;
– Recommendation on the nationality of children (2009).588
Given their direct relevance to preventing and solving statelessness, and their more
recent dates, the last two recommendations in this list are discussed more elaborately
below.
Recommendation No. R (99) of the CM to the member states on the avoidance
and reduction of statelessness589 recognizes the negative impact of statelessness on
individuals and the problems that it creates. This Recommendation was made relatively
shortly after the adoption of the ECN. The CM takes into account the importance of
the ECN and expresses the hope that many states will soon sign and ratify this treaty.
At the same time, the CM says that it realizes “the need for further measures, both at
national and international levels, to avoid and reduce cases of statelessness”.590
As a matter of substance, the Recommendation highlights principles based on the
ECN that have a special relevance to the avoidance and reduction of statelessness and
adds a number of more elaborate provisions aiming at the avoidance and reduction
of cases of statelessness. The latter category is divided into another three further
categories: avoiding and reducing statelessness at birth, facilitating the acquisition of
nationality by stateless people, and avoiding statelessness as a consequence of loss of
nationality. These substantive provisions from the Recommendation are discussed in
more depth in section 3.3.
Even though matters regarding the nationality of children are already addressed
in the ECN, as well as in some rulings of the European Court of Human Rights – for
instance the case of Genovese v. Malta, as we will see below – the CM Recommendation
585
586
587
588
589
590
CoE CM Recommendation No. R (84) 9 of the Committee of Ministers to the Member States on
second-generation migrants (368th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies, 20 March 1984).
CoE CM Recommendation No. R (84) 21 of the Committee of Ministers to the Member States
on the acquisition by refugees of the nationality of the host state (377th meeting of the Ministers’
Deputies, 14 November 1984). Th is Recommendation can be regarded as the fi nal piece in a row
of recommendations and resolutions on this issue, see CoE CM Resolution (70) 2: Acquisition
by refugees of the nationality of their country of residence (adopted by the Ministers’ Deputies on
26 January 1970), and PACE Recommendation 564 (1969): Acquisition by refugees of the nationality
of their country of residence (30 September 1969).
CoE CM Recommendation No. R (99) 18 of the Committee of Ministers to the Member States on the
avoidance and reduction of statelessness (679th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies, 15 September
1999).
Recommendation CM/Rec (2009) 13 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the
nationality of children (adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 9 December 2009 at the 1073rd
meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies).
CoE CM Recommendation No. R (99) 18 of the Committee of Ministers to the Member States on the
avoidance and reduction of statelessness (679th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies, 15 September
1999).
Ibid.
Intersentia
113
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