that these human rights violations ‘share a common characteristic of severity’ that is key to a finding of persecution under the 1951 Refugee Convention,50 at least insofar as the violation of the right not to be rendered stateless or the right not to be arbitrary deprived of one’s nationality acts as ‘the precursor’51 to persecution. Arbitrary deprivation of nationality covers all forms of withdrawal (including ‘loss’52) of nationality, except where voluntarily requested by the individual. Arbitrariness goes beyond unlawfulness to cover standards of justice or due process considerations, and nondiscrimination.53 Not all deprivation of nationality is arbitrary. In order not to be arbitrary, deprivation of nationality must be in conformity with domestic law and comply with specific procedural and substantive standards of international human rights law, in particular the principle of proportionality. Thus, the measure in question must serve a legitimate purpose that is consistent with the objectives of international human rights law. It must also be the least intrusive measure amongst those that might achieve the desired result, and it must be proportionate to the interest to be protected. Furthermore, the decision leading to deprivation of nationality must be issued in writing and be open to effective administrative or judicial review.54 Accordingly, ‘the notion of arbitrariness applies to all and Members of Their Families. For instance, the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities contains the following bar on arbitrary deprivation: Article 18 - Liberty of movement and nationality 1. States Parties shall recognize the rights of persons with disabilities to liberty of movement, to freedom to choose their residence and to a nationality, on an equal basis with others, including by ensuring that persons with disabilities: a. Have the right to acquire and change a nationality and are not deprived of their nationality arbitrarily or on the basis of disability; b. Are not deprived, on the basis of disability, of their ability to obtain, possess and utilize documentation of their nationality or other documentation of identification, or to utilize relevant processes such as immigration proceedings, that may be needed to facilitate exercise of the right to liberty of movement; […] 2. Children with disabilities 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 their parents. 49 The issue of nationality is explicitly regulated in the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. See also, UNHCR, Submission in Kuric, para.5.3 referring to Council of Europe, Explanatory Report of the European Convention on Nationality, para.33. 50 David C Baluarte, ‘Denationalization as persecution: Using a human rights approach to refugee law to address the stateless legal limbo in the United States’, paper to be presented at the First Global Forum on Statelessness: New Directions in Statelessness Research and Policy, at 26 (on file with the author). 51 Foster, International Refugee Law and Socio-Economic Rights, at p.143. 52 UN Human Rights Council, ‘Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: report of the SecretaryGeneral’, 19 December 2013, A/HRC/25/28, para.3. Note that while human rights instruments, the UN Human Rights Council, the UNGA etc. use (or appear to use) deprivation to refer to all forms of withdrawal of nationality, automatic and non-automatic, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness uses deprivation to refer to withdrawal of nationality resulting from the decision of a state authority – while ‘loss’ refers only when occurring by operation of the law (see Articles 7-8). 53 UN HRC, ‘Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: report of the Secretary-General’, 19 December 2013, A/HRC/25/28. 54 Article 17 of the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Nationality of Natural Persons in relation to the Succession of States, with commentaries, Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 1999, vol. II (part 2), at p. 38. See also Article 8(4) of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and Articles 11 and 12 of the 9