DESK REVIEW ON POPULATIONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS Amnesties in GCC countries: Qa ta r 105 Kuw a i t 107 2020 2018 109 2016 2011 2007 2004 2016 2004 S a u d i A r a b i a 106 2017 2013 UA E 108 2018 2012110 2007 111 2002 1996 COVID-19 is exacerbating the vulnerability and risks for migrant worker communities in the Gulf.112 A coalition of NGOs and trade unions that includes Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Migrant-Rights.org, and Business & Human Rights Resource Centre have raised concerns and proposed recommendations regarding protecting the rights of migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.113 B.1.c. Gender Discrimination and Statelessness Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE each adopt the jus sanguinis principle that transmits nationality to children at birth through the father.114 With regard to birth registration there is a lack of clarity about who can register a birth and under what circumstances. Qatari law permits mothers to register their children, while in Kuwait there is no way for a woman to register the birth of her child; It is up to the father. In Saudi Migrant-Rights.org, Qatar’s amnesty for undocumented migrants leaves workers and embassies in the dark, 31 August 2016, available at: https://www.migrant-rights.org/2016/08/qatars-amnesty-for-undocumented-migrants-leaves-workers-andembassies-in-the-dark/. 105 90-day amnesty period allows illegal workers to return to Saudi Arabia, Arab News, 21 March 2017, available at: https:// www.arabnews.com/node/1071511/saudi-arabia; See also: Migrant-Rights.org, Faulty Fixes: A Review of Recent Amnesties and Recommendations for Improvement, 29 March 2019, available at: https://www.migrant-rights.org/2019/03/faulty-fixes-a-reviewof-recent-amnesties-and-recommendations-for-improvement/. 106 23,500 undocumented expats in Kuwait register for amnesty, Arab News, 1 May 2020, available at: https://www.arabnews. com/node/1667876/middle-east. 107 United Arab Emirates: Illegal Immigration Amnesty In The UAE, Mondaq, 18 September 2018, available at: https://www. mondaq.com/Immigration/737242/Illegal-Immigration-Amnesty-In-The-UAE. 108 Kuwait announces amnesty for illegal residents, Gulf Business, 24 January 2018, available at: https://gulfbusiness.com/ kuwait-announces-amnesty-illegal-residents/. 109 Two-month amnesty to illegal residents, Gulf News, 13 November 2012, available at: https://gulfnews.com/how-to/passportsvisa/two-month-amnesty-to-illegal-residents-1.1104133. 110 Amnesty for illegal immigrants soon, Gulf News, 26 May 2002, available at: https://gulfnews.com/uae/amnesty-for-illegalimmigrants-soon-1.388422. 111 Amnesty International, COVID-19 makes Gulf countries’ abuse of migrant workers impossible to ignore, April 2020, available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2020/04/covid19-makes-gulf-countries-abuse-of-migrant-workers-impossibleto-ignore/. 112 Amnesty International, Gulf: Concerns regarding migrant workers’ rights during COVID-19 pandemic, 17 April 2020, available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2020/04/gulf-concerns-regarding-migrant-workers-rights-during-covid19-pandemic/ 113 114 UNHCR / April 2021 Kuwait Nationality Law, Article 2. 39