Human Rights Submissions
Our coalition and partners have made joint submissions to the UN Human Rights Council under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, highlighting key challenges to the right to nationality and statelessness in different countries.
Bhutan – UPR 47th Session (November 2024)
Date of Submission: 8 April 2024
Submitting Organisations: Nationality For All (NFA), Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition – Asia Pacific (SDCC-AP)
This submission focuses on childhood statelessness and ethnic discrimination, particularly against the Lhotshampa community. Despite Bhutan’s obligations under the CRC, CEDAW, CRPD, UDHR, and CERD, discriminatory nationality laws continue to prevent many from acquiring nationality. Stateless individuals face barriers in healthcare, education, employment, and mobility. Recommendations include ensuring nationality for stateless children, reforming discriminatory laws, resuming issuance of travel documents, and ratifying international treaties.
Download the whole document here.
Kazakhstan – UPR 48th Session (July 2024)
TDate of Submission: 16 July 2024
Submitting Organisations: Nationality For All (NFA), Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition – Asia Pacific (SDCC-AP), Central Asian Network on Statelessness (CANS)
The submission highlights the lack of safeguards against loss or deprivation of citizenship, childhood statelessness, and administrative barriers to nationality. While Kazakhstan is party to many human rights treaties, it has not ratified the 1954 or 1961 Statelessness Conventions. Around 8,000 people remain stateless, many due to gaps in citizenship law and difficulties in birth registration. Recommendations include strengthening legal safeguards, improving birth registration, ensuring access to services for stateless persons, and ratifying the Statelessness Conventions.
Download the whole document here.
Brunei Darussalam – UPR 47th Session (November 2024)
Date of Submission: 8 April 2024
Submitting Organisations: Equality Now, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights (GCENR), Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), Nationality For All (NFA), Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition – Asia Pacific (SDCC-AP)
This submission addresses gender discrimination and racial discrimination in Brunei’s nationality law. Women cannot confer nationality to their children on equal terms with men, and citizenship is limited to certain indigenous groups, excluding others. Brunei has not ratified the 1954 or 1961 Statelessness Conventions and maintains reservations to CEDAW and CRPD. Recommendations include amending nationality laws to remove discrimination, ensuring equal rights for women, naturalizing stateless children, and ratifying key international treaties.
Download the whole document here.