ANNEX I United States of America’s International Obligations
1. The U.S. is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which
mandates in Article 24 that every child has the right to a nationality at birth. The U.S. largely
satisfies this obligation through its application of both jus soli and jus sanguinis, as well as free,
widely available birth registration. The right to a nationality under the Covenant forms part of a
larger international framework through which the right to a nationality for all persons is recognized
as a fundamental right, which is included in, among others, the CEDAW (Art 9), CRC (Arts 7 & 8) and
Convention on Enforced Disappearances (CED) (Art. 25). 9. The United States has also ratified the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), which
guarantees equal enjoyment of the right to a nationality in Article 5(d)(iii).
2. The U.S. is not party to the CRC, CEDAW and CRPD, and has received recommendations to ratify
these conventions. Further, the U.S. is also not party to the Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers (ICRMW) or the CE
3. The U.S. is also not party to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and
the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, despite having participated in the drafting
processes of both statelessness conventions. Further, it has also not acceded to the International
Labor Organization Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention and the InterAmerican human rights instruments contain important protections for undocumented persons and
migrant workers, groups in the U.S. which may include stateless persons. Ratification of these
treaties would assist in efforts within the U.S. to ensure that all members of the U.S. population
enjoy their right to a nationality.
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