Conclusion
•
•
•
•
•
Adequately supervise and enforce non-discriminatory application of laws and policies and
procedures relating to nationality and citizenship: States should ensure that State institutions and
national and local authorities comply with the principle of non-discrimination in the application of
laws, policies and procedures relating to nationality and citizenship. States should ensure that
persons subjected to discrimination have access to effective complaints mechanisms and judicial
review.
Ensure equal and meaningful access to civil registration and identify documentation: States should
ensure that all persons, including persons with disabilities and those belonging to racial and ethnic
minorities, are able to access civil registration and adequate documentation, including birth
certificates and documentation to prove nationality or the entitlement to nationality, without
discrimination.
Address root causes of discrimination in nationality laws: States should address root causes of
discrimination in nationality matters. These include harmful social and cultural norms and stereotypes
that promote inequality on the basis of any prohibited grounds of discrimination, including, race,
ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, gender, disability, language or sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression or sex characteristics.
Remove administrative and financial barriers that disproportionally impact minorities and other
marginalized persons or groups, women and girls, and others threatened with discrimination in
nationality matters: States are encouraged to remove any barriers that disproportionality impact on
the ability of women and girls and marginalized groups, including minorities, persons with disabilities,
older persons, persons with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex
characteristics, among others, to access documentation and enjoy their right to nationality. These
include but are not limited to requirements to be self-reliant or contribute to society or procedural
requirements such as language tests.
Provide proactive support to stateless persons, including through legal, administrative, psychosocial, health and other services in regularizing their status, as well as in addressing the effects and
impact of protracted and intergenerational statelessness.
Nationality laws should be free from all forms of discrimination and everyone should enjoy the right to a
nationality. For more information on statelessness, including resources and support available from
UNHCR on how to address it, see https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/.
16
U N H C R > B AC KG R O U N D N OT E O N D I S C R I M I N AT I O N I N N AT I O N A L I T Y L AW S A N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S