Recommendations
ISI’s findings, as set out in this report, confirm and reinforce the general message of
the Joint Statement which we and 83 other Civil Society Organisations released on
27 May 2020. As such, we reiterate the recommendations made in this statement, to
seven distinct stakeholder groups, and reaffirm our commitment to taking up these
recommendations with each group. We also offer the following recommendations on
the basis of this report:
Health & Wellbeing
Ensure that access to healthcare is equal and universal,
and not based upon nationality or legal status; that
all fees and other barriers to access are removed;
that public health imperatives take precedence over
immigration and other motives which may place
vulnerable communities at risk; and that all public health
measures and related advice are communicated to all
groups, including stateless persons and those at risk of
statelessness, taking into account location, language,
literacy and communication channels.
Survival & Livelihoods
Extend emergency support packages to all, on the basis
of need (and not other criteria); distribute relief regardless
of legal status, prioritising first, the furthest left behind;
take special measures to mitigate the transmission of
COVID-19 in densely populated areas, such as camps,
collective shelters and informal settlements.
Hate Speech, Racism and Xenophobia
Desist from unfairly targeting or scapegoating minorities,
migrants, stateless and other groups; prosecute and
penalise those who perpetuate hate speech; and take
steps to acknowledge and dismantle the root causes of
structural discrimination.
Border closures & Movement Restrictions
Ensure that border closures do not result in family
separation, including by allowing non-citizen spouses
and children to re-enter the territory; ensure that
stateless persons with strong ties to a territory, including
residence status, are allowed to return; provide legal
status and protection to those deemed to be irregularly
on the territory; and ensure that where livelihoods are
damaged by the imposition of movement restrictions,
those affected are adequately compensated.
Recommendations
of Joint Civil Society Statement
1. States, to not discriminate in COVID-19
responses on any grounds including citizenship,
documentation or migration status; to make every
effort to reach the furthest behind first, including
the stateless; and to ensure that no one’s right to
nationality is undermined as a result of disruptions to
registries or for any other reason.
2. UN agencies, including the WHO, WFP, UNHCR,
OHCHR, UNICEF and UNDP to ensure that their
COVID-19 responses identify and reach the stateless
and other vulnerable and overlooked groups as
a matter of priority, to provide them with critical
information, healthcare and relief.
3. Human rights actors, including OHCHR, to
maintain a spotlight on enduring discrimination,
rising authoritarianism and harmful state practices
such as police brutality in response to the COVID-19
pandemic; and to monitor and highlight rights
violations faced by the stateless and those whose
right to nationality is at risk.
4. Humanitarian actors, including the WFP,
to identify and target emergency relief and aid to
stateless and other vulnerable communities who are
excluded from state relief efforts, in consultation
with those working on these issues.
5. Public health actors, including the WHO and
health ministries, to reinforce the importance of
ensuring equal and adequate access to healthcare
and public health information to all, regardless of
nationality or statelessness, without fear of arrest,
detention or reprisal.
5