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Introduction 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 Research Report | Page !2 of !9 Yangon Model United Nations, 2018 | VIII Annual Session 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. Research Report | Page !4 of !9 Yangon Model United Nations, 2018 | VIII Annual Session 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
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