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Joint Statements

Joint Statement on the Illegal Deportation, Detention, and Torture of Rohingya Refugees by India

5 June 2025

The Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition – Asia Pacific (SDCC-AP) joins more than 70 organisations and individuals across five continents in condemning India’s recent actions against Rohingya refugees.

What Happened
  • Maritime expulsion (May 9, 2025): Over 40 Rohingya refugees were blindfolded, handcuffed, and forced onto a naval ship before being cast into the sea near Myanmar.
  • Land pushbacks (May 6, 2025): Around 370 undocumented individuals—including 102 Rohingya refugees, many of them children, pregnant women, and the elderly—were expelled into Bangladesh without due process.
  • Ongoing detentions: Rohingya refugees with UNHCR-issued cards face indefinite detention under new directives to deport all undocumented migrants within 30 days.
Violations of Law

These actions blatantly contravene:

  • Principle of non-refoulement under international law
  • Articles 14 & 21 of the Indian Constitution (equality before the law, right to life and liberty)
  • India’s obligations under the CRC, ICCPR, ICESCR, CEDAW, ICERD, CAT, and the Genocide Convention
Our Demands

We call on the Government of India to:

  • ✊ Immediately halt deportations, expulsions, and arbitrary detentions.
  • ⚖️ Initiate an independent inquiry into these actions.
  • 🛡️ Restore recognition of UNHCR documentation and protections for stateless persons.
  •  🌍 Uphold international and constitutional obligations to protect refugees.

We further urge the Judiciary to safeguard fundamental rights and international actors to condemn these violations, apply diplomatic pressure, and address the root causes by restoring Rohingya citizenship in Myanmar.

Solidarity and Commitment

This is not only a violation of law—it is a violation of human dignity. We stand in solidarity with the Rohingya community, who continue to endure persecution, statelessness, and displacement.

📢 Read the Full Statement here

This statement is endorsed by over 70 organisations and individuals worldwide, including the Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition – Asia Pacific (SDCC-AP).

Joint Statement on Thailand’s Decision to Expedite Citizenship and Legal Status for Stateless Persons

26 November 2024

The Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition – Asia Pacific (SDCC-AP), together with ADRA Thailand and Nationality for All, commend Thailand’s groundbreaking decision to expedite citizenship and legal status for approximately 480,000 long-term residents.

A Historic Step Forward

  • Application processing time reduced from 270 days to just 5 days.
  • Legal pathways simplified, offering long-awaited recognition for stateless persons who have lived in Thailand for decades.
  • Direct impact on nearly 600,000 people affected by statelessness, particularly ethnic minorities, highlanders, and children of migrant workers.
Why It Matters

Citizenship is more than a legal identity—it is a gateway to education, healthcare, employment, and dignity. This decision brings hope to thousands who have long been denied equal rights and recognition in Thailand.

Our Call

While this is a monumental victory, much work remains:

  • Ensure inclusive implementation, leaving no one behind.
  • Guarantee transparent and accessible procedures for all stateless groups.
  • Continue to strengthen pathways to full citizenship for those still excluded.
Solidarity and Next Steps

We celebrate this landmark progress and extend solidarity to stateless communities in Thailand. Together, we will continue to work towards ensuring that every individual has the right to nationality and citizenship without discrimination.

📢 Read the Full Statement here

Issued by: SDCC-AP, ADRA Thailand, and Nationality for All

Joint Statement on Malaysia’s Citizenship Law Amendments

24 October 2024

On 17 October 2024, Malaysia’s lower house of parliament passed a bill to amend its citizenship laws. While the bill marks a historic victory for gender equality—finally recognising Malaysian women’s equal right to confer citizenship to children born overseas—it also introduces a series of regressive provisions that risk deepening statelessness and undermining fundamental rights.

One Step Forward
  • Malaysian women are now recognised on an equal basis with men in conferring citizenship to their children born abroad.
  • This is a long-overdue milestone, achieved after decades of tireless advocacy and litigation led by Malaysian mothers, supported by partners such as Family Frontiers.
Several Steps Back

However, the same bill contains harmful provisions that could perpetuate statelessness for vulnerable communities:

  • Children of Permanent Residents will no longer gain automatic citizenship. This endangers Orang Asli, Orang Asal, and long-resident communities with only PR status.
  • Age limit reduced from 21 to 18 for citizenship applications, shrinking the already narrow window for stateless children to apply.
  • Foreign wives of Malaysian men may lose their citizenship if marriages dissolve within two years of naturalisation, leaving them vulnerable to abuse and even statelessness.
  • The amendment on women’s equal rights is non-retroactive, excluding overseas-born children born before the law comes into force.
Our Concerns

By bundling progressive and regressive amendments together, Malaysia has sent a troubling message: citizenship is treated as a privilege, not a right. This approach contravenes Malaysia’s obligations under:

  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 15)
  • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
  • CEDAW and other UN treaties
Our Call

As the bill moves to the upper house in December 2024, we urge representatives to:

  • Protect the rights of stateless and vulnerable children, women, and long-resident communities.
  • Implement clear safeguards and pathways to citizenship.
  • Ensure pending citizenship applications are processed transparently and without delay.
  • Make retroactive provisions for children of Malaysian mothers already left out.
Solidarity and Commitment

We commend the resilience of impacted families and Malaysian civil society, including Family Frontiers and DHRRA Malaysia, for their decades-long struggle for equality and dignity.

We stand with them, celebrate this milestone, and commit to continue working together until all forms of discrimination and statelessness are eliminated.

📢 Read the Full Statement here

Co-issued by: Global Movement Against Statelessness, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Nationality for All, and Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition – Asia Pacific (SDCC-AP).