The State exercises its sovereignty to The Principles on DeprivaOon of NaOonality determine its own rules of na.onality as a NaOonal Security Measure,22 and the acquisi.on, but within limits. States also set UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No 5: the rules for the depriva.on of ci.zenship; Loss and DeprivaOon of NaOonality23 provide the stripping of a na.onality once held. Here important guidance on the ques.on of too, interna.onal law limits State discre.on, depriva.on of na.onality; the former, from a more stringently than in the case of wider interna.onal law perspec.ve, and the na.onality acquisi.on. The jus.fica.on and later, more specifically in rela.on to the basis for taking away a right must be greater 1961 Conven.on. Further, the Commentary than the jus.fica.on for rules which may to the Principles on Deprivation of exclude access to that right in the first place – par.cularly if these rules relate to acquiring ci.zenship later in life (by naturalisa.on). Nationality, provides a more detailed analysis of the interna.onal law basis which underpins the Principles.24 Accordingly, state discre.on in this area is subject to the Ins.tute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), Principles on DeprivaOon of NaOonality as a NaOonal Security Measure, March 2020, available at: <htps://files.ins.tutesi.org/PRINCIPLES.pdf>. (hereinaNer the Principles). The Principles were draNed by ISI in collabora.on with the Open Society Jus.ce Ini.a.ve and with support from the Asser Ins.tute and Ashurst LLP. They were developed over a 30-month research and consulta.on period, with input from more than 60 leading experts in the fields of human rights, na.onality and statelessness, counter-terrorism, refugee protec.on, child rights, migra.on and other related areas. At the .me of submission, they have been endorsed by over 100 individual experts and organisa.ons, including leading academics, UN Special Rapporteurs and Treaty Body members, li.gators, judges, parliamentarians and diplomats. The Principles restate or reflect interna.onal law and legal standards under the UN Charter, treaty law, customary interna.onal law, general principles of law, judicial decisions and legal scholarship, regional and na.onal law and prac.ce. They ar.culate the interna.onal law obliga.ons of States and apply to all situa.ons in which States take or consider taking steps to deprive a person of na.onality as a na.onal security measure. More informa.on is available here: <htps:// www.ins.tutesi.org/year-of-ac.on-resources/principles-on-depriva.on-of-na.onality>. 22 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and DeprivaOon of NaOonality under ArOcles 5-9 of the 1961 ConvenOon on the ReducOon of Statelessness, May 2020, HCR/GS/ 20/05, available at: <htps://www.refworld.org/docid/5ec5640c4.html> The Guidelines provide authorita.ve guidance on the interpreta.on of Ar.cles 5 – 9 of the1961 Conven.on on the Reduc.on of Statelessness. They draw on the Summary Conclusions of the Expert Mee.ng on Interpre.ng the 1961 Statelessness Conven.on and Avoiding Statelessness Resul.ng from Loss and Depriva.on held in Tunis, Tunisia on 31 October-1 November 2013 (“Tunis Conclusions”) and the Expert Mee.ng on Developments related to Depriva.on of Na.onality held in Geneva, Switzerland on 5-6 December 2018. 23 Ins.tute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), Commentary to the Principles on DeprivaOon of NaOonality as a NaOonal Security Measure, 2020, available at: <htps://files.ins.tutesi.org/PRINCIPLES_DraN_Commentary.pdf>. 24 25 | Arbitrary Revoca.on of Na.onality in Bahrain - a Tool of Oppression