inclusive societies by realising and protecting everyone’s right to a nationality. The Institute has made over 80 country specific UPR submissions on the human rights of stateless persons, of which over 25 have been submitted in collaboration with the European Network on Statelessness. ISI has also compiled summaries of the key human rights challenges related to statelessness in all countries under review under the 23rd to the 38th UPR Sessions.4 5. This submission focuses on: I. II. III. Children’s right to a nationality; Facilitated naturalisation; Liberty and security of the person and arbitrary detention. Previous UPR of Moldova under the First and Second Cycle 6. Moldova was previously reviewed during the 12th and 26th sessions of the UPR, in 2011 and 2016, respectively. During the first cycle, Moldova received one recommendation from Brazil to work towards addressing statelessness and protecting the rights of stateless persons, which it accepted.5 Moldova did not receive any recommendations related to nationality, statelessness, or birth registration during the second cycle. 7. In 2017, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed Moldova’s efforts in expanding the network of civil status offices into remote locations, the establishment of an electronic birth register, and increased monitoring, but recommended that Moldova continue to strengthen efforts to ensure that all births in the territory are registered, including of Roma children, children born at home, children born to adolescent mothers and children born out of wedlock.6 International Obligations 8. Moldova has international obligations to protect the right to a nationality and protect the rights of stateless persons on the basis of international and regional treaties to which it is a party. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (see Article 24.3), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (see Articles 2.2 and 3), the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) (see Articles 2, 3, 7 and 8), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (see Article 9), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) (see Article 5(d)(iii)), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (see Article 18), and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). However, it is not a party to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. 4 For more information see: www.institutesi.org Human Rights Council 19th session, Universal Periodic Review, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review – Republic of Moldova, A/HRC/19/18, 14 December 2011, para 73.62. 6 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations on the combined fourth and fifth periodic report of the Republic of Moldova, CRC/C/MDA/CO/4-5, 20 October 2017, para. 18. 5 2