international law and customary international law, and are therefore also applicable in Myanmar. General rule of law principles, including the principle of non-arbitrariness and the principle of non-discrimination, are also fully binding on Myanmar. 3.2 The right to citizenship/nationality The right to citizenship/nationality is clearly recognized in international law. International jurisprudence has consistently reaffirmed that the regulation of citizenship under domestic law is subject to States’ human rights obligations under international law, including with respect to the right to nationality, and the prohibition on arbitrary deprivation of nationality.34 Under national law, being a national of one’s State generally entitles the individual concerned to citizenship of that State. Article 15 of the UDHR affirms that: “(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality; and (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.” Article 15 of the UDHR entails the right of everyone to acquire, change and retain a nationality.35 While under international law States may determine criteria to establish who their nationals are, such discretion is not absolute. Several provisions of the UDHR, for example, affirm the principle of nondiscrimination, including article 7, which codifies the equality of all before the law and their entitlement, without any discrimination, to equal protection of the law. Under the CRC, the right to nationality is provided for in articles 7 and 8, while article 3(1) of the Convention require States parties to take the best interests of the child as a primary consideration in all actions concerning children.36 Article 7 states that: “(1) The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents; and (2) States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights… in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless.” There is no hierarchy of rights within article 7; all are fully applicable to States parties to the CRC. States must respect the rights in the Convention “without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.”37 General comments of the Committee on the Rights of the Child further define State obligations with respect to the right to nationality and the principle of making the best interests of the child a primary consideration.38 Under international human rights law, States have obligations regarding the acquisition, renunciation and loss of nationality, including, in particular, obligations arising from the principle of non-discrimination, the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, citizenship, nationality or migration status, national, social or ethnic origin, descent, language, political or other opinion, sexual orientation or gender identity, age, gender, health, disability, property, socio-economic, birth or other status.39 States do have some scope in prescribing under their domestic legal framework how nationality may be acquired. States’ laws and practice typically recognize three ways in which individuals acquire nationality. The first is through the operation of the jus soli doctrine, that is, by virtue of being born on a State’s territory. The second is through the jus sanguinis doctrine, namely, by virtue of being a descendant (e.g., through parentage) of a State’s own national; and the third is through naturalization. Each State determines through their legal framework whether it recognizes and applies jus soli or jus sanguinis or both, as well as setting out the legal criteria for naturalization. The latter are ordinarily premised on factors such as having an established relationship with the State, through, for example, long-term residence. In addition to the UDHR, three of the international human rights treaties by which Myanmar is bound, namely, the CEDAW, the CRC and the CRPD, are among the international instruments recognizing and guaranteeing the right to a nationality. 6

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