Minorities, Discrimination and Statelessness

Racial discrimination or other discrimination such as on the grounds of minority status, religion or belief, age, gender identity or gender expression, disability, language, sex, sex characteristics or sexual orientation, as well as intersectional or multiple forms of discrimination, is a cause of statelessness. It is estimated that more than 75% of the world’s known stateless populations are members of minority groups. 

Statelessness intersects with and exacerbates barriers already faced by minorities and other disadvantaged groups. It further limits their access to services and the enjoyment of their human rights. As flagged by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, women belonging to minorities may be further marginalized by gender-based discrimination in relation to their acquisition, change or retention of nationality and the conferral of nationality on their children. While nationality alone is not a cure for the stigmatization and discrimination faced by stateless minorities, it is generally crucial to the full and equal exercise of human rights and freedoms. 

Consultations conducted in the summer of 2021

In the run-up to an October 2021 Roundtable on Equality and Non-Discrimination in Nationality Matters to End Statelessness, OHCHR and UNHCR undertook a stocktaking on national laws, policies and practices in this area. 

A short survey was distributed to UN Member States, and public consultation was also opened online. While many of the responses were sent confidentially, some respondents have agreed to making them public. These inputs follow here:

• Civil Rights Project Sisak
• European Network on Statelessness
• Hungary
• North Macedonia
• Marginalized Communities Advocates Network (Somalia)

October 2021 roundtable

Building on the summer 2021 consultation, OHCHR and UNHCR jointly convened a Virtual Roundtable on Equality and Non-discrimination in Nationality Matters to End Statelessness. Following the event in October 2021, a meeting report was published (available here), reflecting good practices and recommendations emanating from discussions during the event. The report also fed into the fourteenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues, and was shared with relevant UN Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures mandate holders, and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI).  

Key texts on minorities, statelessness and human rights

Reports from the Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures mandate holders 

• Interim Report of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance, paras. 26-29, UN Doc. A/75/385, 12 October 2020.
• Report of the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Priorities and Vision for the Mandate, paras. 36-40, UN Doc. A/HRC/37/66, 16 January 2018.
• Report of the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Updates of the Special Rapporteur’s First Thematic Report on Statelessness as a Minority Issue, paras. 85-87, UN Doc. A/HRC/40/64, 9 January 2019.
• Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Racial Discrimination in the Context of Citizenship, Nationality and Immigration Status, paras. 6-15, UN Doc. A/HRC/38/52, 25 April 2018.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees publications

• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Background Note on the Denial, Loss or Deprivation of Nationality on Discriminatory Grounds, 2021.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The Impact of COVID-19 on Stateless Populations: Policy recommendations and good practices on vaccine access and civil registration, 3 June 2021.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2021, 5 March 2021.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “This is Our Home” Stateless Minorities and their Search for Citizenship, 3 November 2017.  
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), I Am Here, I Belong: The Urgent Need to End Childhood Statelessness, 3 November 2015.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Global Action Plan to End Statelessness, 4 November 2014.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidance on Racism and Xenophobia.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidance on UNHCR’s Engagement with National Human Rights Institutions.

Other UN publications

• Expert Workshop on Best Practices to Promote Women’s Equal Nationality Rights in Law and in Practice, Summary report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Doc. A/HRC/36/30, 25 July 2017.
• UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), CERD General Recommendation No. 30 on Discrimination Against Non-Citizens, 2005.

Tools and learning courses

• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), E-learning Course on Engaging with Human Rights Systems on Displacement and Statelessness (3h45).
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Minority Rights Group International, ICERD Quick Reference Guide: Statelessness and Human Rights Treaties, July 2017.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, CEDAW Quick Reference Guide: Statelessness and Human Rights Treaties, April 2017.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF, CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child: Quick Reference Guide - Statelessness and Human Rights Treaties, January 2017.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Quick Reference Guide - Statelessness and Human Rights Treaties, October 2016. 

Other publications

• Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), The World’s Stateless: Deprivation of Nationality, pp. 19-30, 2020.