ISI Database on Statelessness and
Human Rights

5. The draft law on the provision of citizenship to children where the father is not a Bahraini citizen would be considered a priority. 

35. The Committee is concerned that current provisions prevent children from deriving nationality from their mothers.

36. As a matter of non-discrimination and in the best interests of the child, the Committee recommends that the State party undertake the necessary legislative measures to ensure that the child can derive nationality not only from the father but also from the mother.

37. The Committee welcomes the State party’s initiatives to promote birth registration, such as the campaigns undertaken on the Day of the African Child in 2003; the 2004-2008 action plan to improve registration of civil status (“Plan de la Mission d’Appui à la Consolidation de l’Etat Civil”) and in 2006 the adoption of Law No. 06-024, which governs civil status and ensures free birth registration. However, the Committee is concerned that birth registration is a complicated process, that a large number of children are neither registered at birth nor at a later stage, and that major disparities exist between the birth registration of children in urban and rural and remote areas.

38. The Committee recommends that the State party continue its efforts of systematic birth registration for all children born within the national territory, inter alia by ensuring a simplified and cost-free birth registration process, and by increasing the coverage of the mobile units, especially in rural and remote areas, in order to reach the most disadvantaged populations. The Committee also urges the State party to proceed with the registration of those children who have not yet been registered and to enable them to access, in particular, education and health care.

32. While noting that the Constitution addresses the right to identity, the Committee is nevertheless concerned that the child does not derive his or her citizenship through the mother unless the child is born outside of marriage and is not adopted or claimed by the father. 

33. As a matter of non-discrimination and in the best interests of the child, the Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary legislative measures to ensure that a child can derive nationality not only from the father, but also from the mother.

34. The Committee notes with appreciation the various efforts undertaken by the State party to improve birth registration but remains concerned at the considerable number of children not registered at birth (or later).

35. In the light of article 7 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen and further develop measures to ensure that all children born within the national territory are registered by, inter alia, making birth registration easy and free of charge and introducing mobile units, especially in rural areas. The Committee further urges the State party to proceed with the registration of those children who have thus far not been registered.

36. The Committee is encouraged by the provisions of the draft Child Rights Act which incorporate the principle of the best interests of the child and it takes note of the legislative amendments which enshrine this principle. However, the Committee is concerned that this general principle is not fully applied and duly integrated in the implementation of the legislation, policies and programmes of the State party as well as in administrative and judicial decisions. For example, the implementation of the Jordanian Nationality Act may result in statelessness of the child.

37. As regards article 3, paragraph 1 of the Convention, the Committee emphasizes that the Convention is indivisible and its articles are interdependent and that the best interests of the child is a general principle of relevance to the implementation of the whole Convention. The State party should ensure that the best interests of the child is a primary concern, taken into account in all revisions of the legislation as well as in judicial and administrative decisions, and in projects, programmes and services which have an impact on children.

[...]

44. The Committee welcomes the amendment of the Jordanian Passport Act in 2003 according to which women and their children may obtain passports without the written permission of their husbands. However, the Committee notes that children of Jordanian fathers acquire Jordanian nationality at birth, regardless of the child’s birthplace, but that Jordanian women cannot transmit their nationality to their children born from a marriage with a non-Jordanian man, except under special humanitarian circumstances. The Committee is concerned that in some cases this may result in statelessness.

45. The Committee recommends that the State party review and amend the Jordanian Nationality Act (Law No. 7 of 1954) in order to ensure that a Jordanian mother married to a non-Jordanian man has the right to confer her nationality to her children equally and without discrimination.

[...]

80. In the light of articles 3 and 22 and other relevant provisions of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party accede to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol as well as to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and develop a legislative framework for the protection of asylum-seeking and refugee children, particularly unaccompanied children.

37. The Committee notes with concern that children born to Palestinian fathers, who do not themselves possess recognized identity documents, are not registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and neither receive recognized identity documents from the State party nor have the ability to acquire a nationality, even if they have a Lebanese mother, as nationality can be transmitted solely through a child’s father.

38. In order to secure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by children in Lebanon, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all children within its territory, including the children of Palestinian refugees without identity documents, are registered immediately after birth. Meanwhile, children whose births have not been registered and who are without official documentation should be allowed to access basic services, such as health and education, while waiting to be properly registered.

39. The Committee reiterates its concern that citizenship is transmitted solely through a child’s father, which can result in statelessness, for example, among children born to Lebanese mothers and refugee fathers.

40. The Committee urges the State party to critically review its legislation, particularly the Legislative Decision No. 15/1925, in order to ensure that also a Lebanese mother has the right to confer Lebanese citizenship to her children equally and without discrimination.

38. As regards the child’s right to acquire nationality, the Committee is concerned about the discrimination against children on account of their fathers’ nationality. Children of Saudi fathers acquire Saudi nationality at birth, regardless of the child’s birthplace, but Saudi women cannot transmit their Saudi nationality to their children born from a relationship with a non-Saudi man or from a non-marital relationship.

39. The Committee recommends that the State party review its legislation on nationality in order to ensure that nationality can be transmitted to children through both the maternal and paternal line without distinction.

41. While noting that birth registration is mandatory by law, the Committee is concerned that despite the efforts of the State party, the low rate of birth registration remains a problem, particularly in rural areas, and has been exacerbated by the conflict which has reduced the ability of local authorities to carry out “public administration services”, including birth registration. The Committee is concerned that children who have not been registered at birth are more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, including recruitment into armed groups, as their ages
cannot be established. 

42. The Committee is also concerned that many groups of children are not registered and/or are ineligible for Nepalese citizenship, with gravely negative consequences on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms by those children, in particular, the right to know and be cared for by parents. The Committee is particularly concerned that under the current provisions of the Birth, Death and other Personal Incidences (Vital Registration) Act of 1976 a mother may experience difficulties in registering her child, and similarly, the Citizenship Act of 1964 does not allow a child to claim nationality with his/her mother’s name. As a consequence, children born to foreign fathers, abandoned children, orphans, children born to single mothers and children from the Badi community who may not be able to identify their fathers are unable to obtain citizenship. In addition, the Committee expresses concern that birth registration of Bhutanese refugees is not carried out by the authorities.

43. In the light of article 7 of the Convention, the Committee urges the State party to increase its efforts, including awareness-raising campaigns, to ensure the registration of all children at birth. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that local government authorities, which are entrusted with the task of birth registration, actively engage with the local communities to ensure that births are registered in a timely and effective manner. In this regard, the Committee urges the State party to seek assistance from, inter alia, UNICEF, non-governmental organizations and other members of the civil society. 

44. The Committee further recommends the State party to amend, as a matter of priority, the relevant legislation, most notably the Birth, Death and other Personal Event (Vital Registration) Act of 1976, the Citizenship Act of 1964 and articles 9 (1), (2) and (5) of the Constitution to ensure full compliance with articles 7 and 8 of the Convention. The Committee also urges the State party to, as a matter of priority, review its policy regarding birth registration of refugee children and ensure that all children of refugees and asylum-seekers born in the State party are issued with birth certificates.

[...]

78. The Committee welcomes the adoption in August 2004 of an official policy that is grounded on the principle of non-refoulement, but it regrets that the State party has not yet ratified the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons or the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and that there is no domestic legislation that covers the rights of refugees and asylum-seeking persons. In this regard, and given the fact that a large population of these persons are children the Committee is concerned about: ...

[...]

80. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Ratify, as a matter of priority, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness; 

(b) Seek to ensure, as a matter of priority, that all internally displaced, refugee and asylum-seeking children and their families have access to health and education services, and that all their rights contained in the Convention are protected, including the right to be registered at birth;