All Ears to the Ground II A MASS CITIZENSHIP STRIPPING AND CITIZENSHIP VIOLENCE Conceptualising Mass Citizenship Stripping and Citizenship Violence9 Citizenship stripping is the layperson’s term for what is known in international law as the arbitrary deprivation of nationality. 10 The two terms can be used interchangeably.11 Deprivation of nationality is defined as: any loss, withdrawal or denial of nationality that was not voluntarily requested by the individual, including where a state precludes a person or group from obtaining or retaining a nationality, where nationality is automatically lost by operation of the law, and where acts taken by administrative authorities result in a person being deprived of a nationality.12 It therefore covers a wide range of administrative and legal measures through which people are denied citizenship. ‘Arbitrary’ refers to loss or deprivation of nationality that ‘does not serve a legitimate aim or is not proportionate’,13 covering situations in which domestic citizenship rules have been weaponised in ways that are not compliant with the principles of international law. Citizenship stripping impacts individuals and groups of people. Citizenship stripping of individuals on national security grounds has been on the rise globally. Comprehensive studies have examined this trend, finding it in breach of multiple standards of international law.14 This article, however, focuses on group or mass citizenship stripping or situations in which citizenship laws and administrative processes have been weaponised against people on the basis of their membership of a group, for example, ethnic, racial, religious, linguistic or social group. The distinction between individual and group forms of citizenship stripping is useful for the purpose of delineating collective forms of resistance. The reality on the ground, however, is far messier, with many overlapping and intersecting factors leading to the deprivation of citizenship. For example, ethnic identities and political allegiances often overlap, and individuals may find themselves excluded or labelled as disloyal to the state due to multiple factors. Further, just as official charges often obscure the political motivations behind the arrest of political dissidents, so too the reasons that state authorities deny a person citizenship are often obscured behind a wide range of legal and administrative practices. Lack of legal clarity, indefinite delays in registration processes, excessive requests for 9 10 11 12 13 14 For more on citizenship stripping, see generally, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (‘ISI’) and Open Society Justice Initiative, ‘UK Resources on Citizenship Stripping’, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (Web Page, 2019) <https://www.institutesi.org/events/ukseminar-series-citizenship-stripping>, archived at <perma.cc/7QPX-ML63>. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Res 217A (III), UN Doc A/810 (10 December 1948) art 15. Fionnula Ní Aoláin, Position of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Consequences of Citizenship Stripping in the Context of Counter Terrorism with a Partial Application to North East Syria (Position Paper, UNHCR, February 2022) 3. ISI, Principles on the Deprivation of Nationality as a Security Measure (Legal Policy & Guidance, 2020) 8 (‘Principles on the Deprivation of Nationality as a Security Measure’). Report of the United Nations Secretary General on Human Rights and the Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality, UN Doc A/HRC/25/28 (19 December 2013) 16. Luuk van der Baaren et al, Instrumentalising Citizenship in the Fight Against Terrorism: A Global Comparative Analysis of Legislation on Deprivation of Nationality as a Security Measure (Report, ISI and Global Citizenship Observatory (‘GLOBALCIT’), March 2022) 5, 16, 33–8; Principles on the Deprivation of Nationality as a Security Measure (n 12) 1–3. 9