DESK REVIEW ON POPULATIONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS 191 mothers from the first batch chose not to avail themselves of the mechanism. Finally, the report noted that following the closure of the inter-agency committee, the program was stopped, though mothers continued to approach the Philippine Embassy seeking to participate. At the time of publication of that report, there was no agreement yet to restart the program. The numbers that benefited from any subsequent procedures may be significant, but no information has yet been identified to confirm this. It is reported that in 2017, amnesty was granted to undocumented migrants in Saudi Arabia.156 The same report states that Saudi authorities removed a mandatory DNA test requirement for undocumented children during an amnesty period.157 The report states that while DNA tests were previously required to determine the identity of a child’s parents, during the amnesty the Saudi government only required a ROB from the Philippine Consulate. Filipino mothers under investigation were denied amnesty. The Philippine Consul General Imelda M. Panolong was quoted as saying that 5,675 Filipino workers left Saudi Arabia during the three-month amnesty, and that a further 4,300 had been referred. A previous amnesty was also granted in 2013 during which more than 2.5 million undocumented migrants left the country.158 It was reported during an interview with Social Welfare Attachés deployed to Saudi Arabia that sometimes undocumented Filipinos are still afraid to come forward because of fear that they will be arrested, but that the Embassy tried to encourage them and assure them of support. B.4.b. Citizenship Saudi citizenship is conferred primarily on the basis of the jus sanguinis principle from the father, with exceptions for foundlings. Women can also confer nationality where the father is unknown. Under Article 35 of Saudi Arabia’s Basic Law (its Constitution), “[t]he rules which govern the Saudi Arabian nationality shall be defined by the law.” The citizenship system was approved by the Cabinet according to Decision no. 4 of 25/1/1374 Hijra in 1954.159 Saudi allows undocumented Filipino children to leave the country without DNA test, Gulf Business, 4 June 2017, available at: https://gulfbusiness.com/saudi-authorities-allow-undocumented-filipino-children-leave-country-without-dna-test/. 156 157 Ibid. 158 Ibid. (See also chart of “Amnesties in GCC countries” in section 5.2.1.2) Saudi Arabian Citizenship System (Regulation) [Saudi Arabia], Decision no. 4 of 25/1/1374 Hijra, 23 September 1954, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3fb9eb6d2.html. 159 50 UNHCR / April 2021