Human Rights – Stateless Minorities

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This is our home”: Stateless minorities and their search for citizenship
UNHCR – Division of International Protection
November 2017 :: 52 pages
PDF: http://www.unhcr.org/59f747404.pdf
Key Findings
Statelessness can exacerbate the exclusion that minorities already face, further limiting their access to education, health care, legal employment, freedom of movement, development opportunities and the right to vote. It creates a chasm between affected groups and the wider community, deepening their sense of being outsiders: of never belonging.
In May and June 2017, UNHCR spoke with more than 120 individuals who be
long to stateless or formerly stateless minority groups in three countries: the Karana of Madagascar, Roma and other ethnic minorities in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the Pemba and Makonde of Kenya. These are the key findings of UNHCR’s consultations:

Discrimination
Discrimination and exclusion of ethnic, religious or linguistic minority groups often lies at the heart of their statelessness. At the same time, their statelessness can lead to further discrimination, both in in practice and in law: at least 20 countries maintain nationality laws in which nationality can be denied or deprived in a discriminatory manner.

Lack of documentation
Discrimination against the stateless minorities consulted manifests itself most clearly in their attempts to access documentation needed to prove their nationality or their entitlement to nationality, such as a national ID card or a birth certificate. Lack of such documentary proof can result in a vicious circle, where authorities refuse to recognize an otherwise valid claim to nationality.

Poverty
Because of their statelessness and lack of documentation, the groups consulted are typically excluded from accessing legal or sustainable employment, or obtaining the kinds of loans or licenses that would allow them to make a decent living. This marginalization can make it difficult for stateless minorities to escape an ongoing cycle of poverty.

Fear
All the groups consulted spoke of their fear for their physical safety and security on account of being stateless. Being criminalized for a situation that they are unable to remedy has left psychological scars and a sense of vulnerability among many.

SOLUTIONS
Ensuring equal access to nationality rights for minority groups is one of the key goals of UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness by 2024.

To achieve this, UNHCR urges all States to take the following steps, in line with Actions 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 of UNHCR’s Global Action Plan to End Statelessness:
:: Facilitate the naturalization or confirmation of nationality for stateless minority groups resident on the territory provided that they were born or have resided there before a particular date, or have parents or grandparents who meet these criteria.
:: Allow children to gain the nationality of the country in which they were born if they would otherwise be stateless.
:: Eliminate laws and practices that deny or deprive persons of nationality on the basis of discriminatory grounds such as race, ethnicity, religion, or linguistic minority status.
:: Ensure universal birth registration to prevent statelessness.
:: Eliminate procedural and practical obstacles to the issuance of nationality documentation to those entitled to it under law.

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Media release
UNHCR report exposes the discrimination pervading the life of stateless minorities worldwide
3 Nov 2017
A new UNHCR report warns that discrimination, exclusion and persecution are stark realities for many of the world’s stateless minorities, and calls for immediate action to secure equal nationality rights for all.

More than 75% of the world’s known stateless populations belong to minority groups, the report notes. Left unaddressed, their protracted marginalization can build resentment, increase fear and, in the most extreme cases, lead to instability, insecurity and displacement…

“Stateless people are just seeking the same basic rights that all citizens enjoy. But stateless minorities, like the Rohingya, often suffer from entrenched discrimination and a systematic denial of their rights,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

“In recent years, important steps have been taken to address statelessness worldwide. However new challenges, like growing forced displacement and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, threaten this progress. States must act now and they must act decisively to end statelessness,” added Grandi.