Legal Identity and Minority Statelessness speech and improve the legal status of people of Vietnamese origin. 12 Moreover, the UN Special Rapporteur on Cambodia has monitored and publicly reported on the situation of affected communities. 13 BIRTH REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION A Boat Without Anchors and MIRO found that many Vietnamese communities do not have effective access to birth registration. In 2016, MIRO found that only 5% of 414 Vietnamese surveyed in Takeo, Kampong Chhnang and Pursat provinces had birth certificates. 14 Cambodian law allows children of non-citizens living legally in the country to be issued a birth certificate, but local officials seem to conflate issuing birth certificates with conferring citizenship. 15 The absence of birth registration for children creates barriers for obtaining other documents relevant to exercising future rights and entitlements. Many children are unable to attend public schools due to a lack of birth certificates, which schools require for enrolment. 16 The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women called upon Cambodia to ‘intensify efforts to facilitate the birth registration of children born to Vietnamese mothers and their acquisition of citizenship’. 17 In 2019, the Ministry of Interior eventually issued a directive instructing local administrations to provide birth certificates to ‘foreigners’ who have permanent resident cards — basically reminding local authorities that they should implement the law. 18 Cambodian authorities need to provide these communities with effective access to birth registration to achieve universal birth registration in line with Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which aims to ‘provide legal identity for all including birth registration’, by 2030. 19 Universal access to public primary schooling is a key requirement for social inclusion, improving Khmer language skills among children, and accessing better employment opportunities. ‘FOREIGNER’ CENSUS AND DEPORTATIONS After the 2013 national elections, Cambodian authorities adopted new policies regarding the legal status of ethnic Vietnamese populations. First, in late 2014, 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations on the Combined Fourteenth to Seventeenth Reports of Cambodia, UN Doc CERD/C/KHM/CO/1417 (12 December 2019, adopted 9 December 2019) [23]–[24]. Human Rights Council, Assessing Protection of Those at Risk of Being Left Behind: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, UN Doc A/HRC/42/60/Add.1 (2 September 2019) [47]–[51]. Research Finding Statelessness Minority Groups in Cambodia Takeo, Kampong Chhnang, and Pursat Provinces (Research Report, Minority Rights Organization, 2016) 19. Melanie Hyde, Report on Access to Birth Registration for Marginalised or Vulnerable Populations: A Case Study on Ethnic Vietnamese Minority Communities in Cambodia (Report, 2016) 10–11. Ang, Weill and Chan (n 3) 11. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding Observations on the Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of Cambodia, UN Doc CEDAW/C/KHM/CO/4-5 (29 October 2013, adopted 18 October 2013) [30]–[31]. Directive on Issuance of Administrative Letters and Birth Certificates for Cambodian Spouses, Children and Foreign Immigrants (Circular No 015, Ministry of Interior, 2019). Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Doc A/RES/70/1 (21 October 2015, adopted 25 September 2015) 25, [16.9]. 349