PALAIS DES NATIONS • 1211 GENEVA 10, SWITZERLAND Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls Ref.: OL GBR 3/2022 (Please use this reference in your reply) 11 February 2022 Excellency, We have the honour to address you in our capacities as Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children and Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 43/36, 40/16, 43/20, 44/4 and 41/6. In this connection, we would like to bring to the attention of your Excellency’s Government concerns about the Nationality and Borders Bill and, specifically, the recently introduced Clause 9 on notice of decision to deprive a person of citizenship. We would like to highlight the concerns arising in relation to Clause 9 and its compliance with the State’s obligations under international human rights law. We would like to note several considerations regarding the international law prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of citizenship and the obligation to reduce statelessness. The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, ratified by the UK on 29 March 1966, prohibits the deprivation of nationality where such deprivation would render a person stateless (Article 8 (1)), or is based on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds (Article 9). The 1961 Convention also requires that a person deprived of nationality must be afforded the right to a fair hearing by a court or other independent body (Article 8 (4)). We also emphasise that international law imposes express limits on States’ powers to regulate nationality law, both through customary international law and treaty obligations. 1 1 Nationality Decrees Issued in Tunis and Morocco (Permanent Court of International Justice), Ser. B, No. 4, Advisory Opinion, 7 February 1923, pp. 23-24; Georges Pinson v United Mexican States (1928) 5 UNRIAA 327, p. 364 (France- Mexico Claims Commission). See also Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws (1930) 179 LNTS 89, Article 1. ILC, ‘Draft Articles on Nationality of Natural Persons in relation to the Succession of States (with commentaries)’ (1999) II(2) YBILC, p. 24, para. 3. See also ‘Human Rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: Report of the Secretary-General’, UN Doc. A/HRC/13/34, 14 December 2009, para. 19. Her Excellency Ms. Elizabeth Truss, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs