Yangon Model United Nations, 2018 | VIII Annual Session
Forum: The Human Rights Council
Issue: Protecting the Basic Human Rights of Stateless People
Student Officer: Victor Naing
Position: Chair
Introduction
No matter the continent — Asia, Africa, or the Americas, statelessness is found in every corner of the world. Statelessness, like the name suggested, is a condition where a person does not belong to a country and does not have any nationality. Lack of a nationality and legal identity deprived the victims of statelessness the basic human rights and social services, such as education, healthcare, and even marriages, which the majority of the population can obtain. Though statelessness had been condemn and regarded as “inhumane” since the 1800s, it is still a prevalent issue today. According to the
UNHCR’s report, Ending Statelessness Within 10 Years, statelessness is a man-made problem where millions of people’s nationality could be taken away in an extremely short time. Political directives such as discriminatory laws against a specific population group, sudden changes in state boundaries, and conflict and technicalities in laws, are some of the main causes of statelessness. However, the most important issue of statelessness is that it can be inherited from the pervious generations. As parents lack a nationality, it is challenging for their children to obtain a nationality as well, which resulted in the endless cycle of hardship and violations of human rights.
Insecurity, humiliation, and violated rights are what the victims of statelessness experience on a daily basis. They are faced with restrictions for all their lives. Stateless children are invisible in the eyes of the government. They are often denied public education, medical needs, and legal protections from abuses. Even for the lucky few who could find a job, they fall victims to the substantially lower wages little to no chance of promotion, and lack of job security as there are no laws protecting them, compared to people with nationalities. The lack of official ID also make stateless people prone to arbitrary arrests, detention, and deportation. Families are also under the pressure of being torn apart at any minute. Many had to resort to private, non-governmental organizations to merely survive.
Research Report | Page 1! of 9! Yangon Model United Nations, 2018 | VIII Annual Session Definition of Key Terms
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a bill of rights drafted by different
representatives of different backgrounds in 1948. The UDHR sets a standard for “fundamental
human rights to be universally protected” (UN). The 30 articles of UDHR tackles different aspect
of human rights protection, ranging from freedom of speech to the right for employment.
Article 15 of UDHR
Quoted directly from the Article 15 of UDHR: “Everyone has the right to a nationality” and “No one
shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality”.
Nationality
Nationality is the legal bond between a person and a nation. A nationality is granted commonly
though certain methods such as jus soli and jus sanguinis. Jus soli, or right of the soil, grants
nationality anyone born in the territory of a nation, while jus sanguinis, or right of the blood, grants
nationality to the children of a citizen. People can also apply to become a national of a country.
Statelessness and Stateless Person
Quoted directly from the Article 1 of 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless
Persons, “… the term “stateless person” means a person who is not considered as a national by
any State under the operation of its law” (1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless
Person). The lack of nationality prevents stateless people from having the access to basic human
rights. There are two types of Statelessness: de facto and de jure.
De jure Statelessness
De jure stateless person has the same definition as the aforementioned definition given by the
Article 1 of 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. De jure statelessness
refers to people who are denied a nationality and a country of origin.
De facto Statelessness
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Quoted directly from the UNHCR’s expert meeting, The Concept of Stateless Persons under
International Law Summary Conclusions, De facto stateless persons are “persons outside the
country of their nationality who are unable or, for valid reasons, are unwilling to avail themselves
of the protection of that country” (UNHCR). De facto stateless people are people who once had a
nationality but are no longer under the protection of their nation because “they themselves
renounce the assistance and protection of the countries of which they are nationals” (A Study on
Statelessness, UN)
Refugee and the Undocumented Migrants
According to the Geneva Refugee Convention, “A refugee...is someone who is unable or
unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for
reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion
(Geneva Refugee Convention).” Refugees may hold a nationality from their country of origin.
However, some refugees may be de facto stateless, and some stateless people may be
refugees. Refugees who hold a national are also referred as de facto stateless persons.
Undocumented migrants are ones who remain in a country without legal authorities such as
residence permit, or visa. Though undocumented migrants may face problems that stateless
people would face, they have a country of origin and a nationality. Therefore, they cannot be
considered stateless.
Intergenerational Cycle of Statelessness
Statelessness can the dire consequences of multiple cases such as political and legal directives,
discrimination against a population or ethnic group, sudden redrawing of borders, and
technicalities and conflicts in laws. These causes could make a person stateless overnight.
However, statelessness is also a cycle. Statelessness is also inherited from their parents to their
children. For example, in a country where nationality is granted by jus sanguinis, children with
parents who are stateless (not citizens of that country), would also not be granted a nationality.
As a result, the children suffer from the lack of nationality, passports, and legal identity just like
their parents. The intergenerational cycle of statelessness refers to the cycle of statelessness that
affects future generations.
History Research Report | Page 3! of 9! Yangon Model United Nations, 2018 | VIII Annual Session
In July of 1951, Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, a multilateral treaty aimed to protect refugees, was drafted. The 1951 Convention defined refugees and methods to protect them, however it failed to mention the status of stateless persons. As a result, General Assembly called for another convention in 1954, defining and addressing the issue of statelessness. From the ancient Greek societies to the aftermath of World War II, statelessness can be seen throughout history.
Timeline of Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events
Date Description of event A Study of Statelessness
August 1949 The United Nations published a report on the study of statelessness which included statistics, situations before WW2, difficulties and etc. Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
September 28, 1954 Multilateral treaty that defined stateless person aimed to protect stateless people Convention on Reduction of Statelessness August 30, 1961 Multilateral treaty aimed to reduce statelessness. Campaign to End Statelessness in 10 Years
November 2014 Campaign launched by the UNHCR that included statistics and difficulties of statelessness and proposed possible solutions.
Key Issues
Technicalities and Conflicts in Laws
A person’s nationality is granted through two main methods: jus soli (by birth) and jus sanguinis
(by blood). The technicalities in laws would prevent people, especially children, from obtaining a
nationality. For example, if a person is born in the territory not claimed by the state after the
redrawing of borders, then the person will not be considered a citizen of that state. Another
example would be if a child is born within the territory of a state but has stateless parents, then
the child would not be granted a nationality. Lack of nationality and legal identity made it extra
challenging for stateless people to apply for nationalities in other countries. Also, in some
countries, a mother’s nationality cannot be passed on to her children, leaving the children
stateless if the father doesn’t have a citizenship.
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Discrimination
Discrimination plays a major role in deprivation nationality. In addition to the aforementioned
gender discrimination, where women are restricted from conferring their nationalities to their
children, an entire population group could be denied nationality due to factors such as as
ethnicity and religion. Based on those factors, individuals from targeted minority groups could
face arbitrarily deprivation of nationality. Individuals from targeted minority groups also face more
complex process when applying for a nationality.
The Inheritance of Statelessness
Statelessness affect tens of millions of people globally. Stateless people would face deprivation of
human rights and legal protections due to the lack of a nationality. One third of the stateless
population are children. Children are the unfortunate victims of statelessness since they inherited
statelessness from their parents. They would grow up without a nationality and have children who
also suffer from deprivation of a nationality. The inheritance of statelessness made people suffer
from intergenerational marginalization.
How statelessness affect a person’s everyday life?
According to the UNHCR, at least 10 million people are stateless. Stateless people are denied
the most basic inalienable rights granted to the majority of the population. Since birth, they are
not issued a legal birth certificate and are viewed as “non-persons”, or legally invisible people, by
the government. Without a legal identity, they often have no access basic rights such as
education, healthcare, job, or even government welfare. They also face constant discrimination,
pressure, humiliation and fear. Statelessness put pressure on families as they can be torn apart
or deported at any times. Statelessness is a curse that affect multiple generations.
Major Parties Involved and Their Views
Myanmar and Bangladesh
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Rohingya people are the largest stateless population in Myanmar. While many of the Burmese
population regarded them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Bangladeshi population and
the international community regarded Rohingya people as a minority group in Myanmar . As a
result, the Rohingya people suffered from the lack of citizenship. Tens of thousands of Rohingya
people had migrated to other southeast Asian countries to seek refuge. The Burmese
government is accused of executing acts of genocide and ethnicity cleansing against the
Rohingya people by the international community. However, Myanmar government said it was
action against terrorism in Myanmar.
United States of America
United States of America is not signatory of neither the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of
Stateless persons nor the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Though it is not a
signatory of the conventions, United States “provides humanitarian assistance and engages in
diplomacy to prevent and resolve statelessness” and is the “single largest donor to UNHCR” (U.S
Department of State).
South Sudan
After declaring independence from Sudan in July 9, 2011, South Sudan became the newest
country in the world. However, the country suffered from poverty, starvation, and conflicts. Due to
the redrawing of state borders, there are “half a million men, women, and children who are at risk
of statelessness in South Sudan” (UNHRC). People born in Sudan before the South Sudan
became a country couldn’t prove their nationality. Though obtaining a nationality is possible in this
country, the high cost and extensive process discouraged many from getting a citizenship.
Kuwait
The Bidun population of Kuwait is the largest stateless population in the country. The word
derived from the Arabic phrase “bidun jinsiya” which translates to “without a nationality”. Bidun
population suffered from decades long discrimination. However in 2011, the Kuwaiti government
granted the Bidun population access to healthcare, education, birth and death certificates, and
marriage. Though the standard of living had improved, Kuwaiti government do not plan on giving
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the Bidun population a citizenship, instead is negotiating with other countries that are willing to
grant citizenship to the Bidun population.
Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue
Attempts to protect the basic human rights of stateless people had been made by governments, UN, and non-governmental organizations. Kuwaiti government granted its largest stateless population, the Bidun population, access to several basic human rights such as education, healthcare, life certificates, and marriage. Though the country does not plan on to give citizenship to the Bidun population, their standard of living improved significantly. This attempt granted Bidun population with deserving human rights, however, it fails to address granting citizenship to stateless people in the near future. Many governments engaged very little in protecting the rights of stateless people as they viewed them as “aliens” and “non-persons”. As a result, many had to resort to third party organizations for help.
Possible Solutions
Stateless people suffer from violations of human rights due to the lack of nationality. They are denied from the most basic rights such as education, job opportunities, education, and healthcare. One possible solution is to issue a temporary permit which a stateless person can apply and have access to the rights that are granted to the majority of the population. With a temporary permit, children from stateless families could attend schools, stateless adults could apply for jobs, and have access to public healthcare. The temporary permit would also be a step closer from granting stateless individuals permanent citizenship. It put people under pressure and deprived from other human rights. It is important to eliminate statelessness. Children are among the worst victims of statelessness. As statelessness is a cycle, they inherited it from their parents, continuing the cycle of marginalization. One solution is to grant nationality to children born in a nation’s territory if the parents are stateless. Another is to prevent discrimination against gender and religion. Mothers couldn’t pass on their nationality to their children, and entire population group could be deprived of nationality simply based on religion. A possible solution is to have non-discriminatory laws so that women could pass their nationality to their children and an entire of people wouldn’t be marginalized based on factors such as religion, race, ethnicity, or language.
QARSA section needed
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