ISI Database on Statelessness and
Human Rights

18. (...) The Committee urges the State party to continue its policy of issuing identity cards and to resolve the structural problem affecting registration.

19. (...) The Committee recommends that the State party: remove the administrative obstacles to issuing identity documents to Dominicans of Haitian origin and restore any such documents that have been confiscated, cancelled or destroyed by the authorities; ensure that Dominican citizens of Haitian origin are not deprived of their right to nationality; and adopt non-discriminatory policies with regard to identity documents, guaranteeing due process (CERD/C/DOM/CO/12, para. 16).

20. (...) The Committee recalls that the scope of national sovereignty with regard to nationality is limited in terms of respect for human rights, specifically the principle of non-discrimination, and invites the Dominican Republic: to implement the recommendations made by various human rights mechanisms; to respect the principle of non-discrimination in access to nationality, in conformity with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 30 (2004); and to implement the national plan for regularizing illegal immigrants, as provided for in article 151 of the Migration Act (No. 285-04), giving priority to those who have resided in its territory for a long period (CERD/C/DOM/CO/12, para. 14).

26. The Committee encourages the State party to ratify the international treaties to which it is not yet a party, in particular the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990), the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961) and the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954).

The Committee urges the State party to ensure that:

(a) Open and participatory consultations are held in devising and implementing the National Action Plan to address the obstacles faced by Roma to enjoy their rights, including the participation of Roma community, civil society representatives and experts on this issue, and that such a plan is made available publicly;

(b) The plan includes special measures to facilitate their access to residence registration, citizenship, education, adequate housing with legal security of tenure, employment and other economic, social and cultural rights, in accordance with general recommendation No. 27 (2000) on discrimination against Roma, as previously recommended by the Committee (CERD/C/RUS/CO/19, para. 14), and that the plan contains a particular focus on the rights of Roma women, in accordance with general recommendation No. 25 (2000) on gender-related dimensions of racial discrimination;

(c) The plan is sufficiently funded to guarantee its effectiveness.

22. Bearing in mind the indivisibility of all human rights, the Committee encourages the State party to consider ratifying those international human rights treaties which it has not yet ratified, in particular, treaties the provisions of which have a direct bearing on the subject of racial discrimination, such as (...) the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (...)
 

24. The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to facilitate access to citizenship for stateless Roma, Sinti and non-citizens who have lived in Italy for many years, and to pay due attention to and remove existing barriers. Bearing in mind the 1954 Convention relating to the status of Stateless Persons and 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, the Committee also recommends that the State party take measures to reduce statelessness, in particular statelessness among Roma and Sinti children and children born in Italy.

10. The Committee is particularly concerned about discriminatory provisions in the Constitution that all Maldivians should be Muslims, thus excluding non-Muslims from obtaining citizenship or from accessing public positions, and affecting mainly people of a different national or ethnic origin (arts. 2, 4 and 5). 

The Committee draws the attention of the State party to general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens, in which the Committee requests State parties to ensure that particular groups of non-citizens are not discriminated against with regard to access to citizenship or naturalization. Also, in accordance with article 5 (d) (vii) of the Convention, the State party has the obligation to ensure that all persons enjoy their right to freedom of religion without any discrimination on racial or ethnic grounds. The Committee requests the State party to consider the possibility of modifying the discriminatory constitutional provisions in line with the Convention.

11. (...) The Committee recommends that the State party consider ratifying (...) the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

21. The Committee expresses concern at the discriminatory and arbitrary extra requirements for Nubians, Coastal Arabs, Somalis and Kenyans of Asian descent in the recognition of nationality and in accessing identity documentation such as Kenyan identity cards, birth certificates and passports. The Committee is also concerned that by introducing the possibility of revocation of nationality, the new Constitution imposes a differential treatment of citizens according to the way the Kenyan nationality has been acquired (art. 5 (d)).

The Committee urges the State party to ensure compliance with article 5 (d) (iii) of the Convention by making the necessary amendments to its legislation and administrative procedures in order to implement the new constitutional provisions on citizenship, and by ensuring that all citizens are treated equally and without any discrimination and receive identity documents. The Committee also calls upon the State party to implement the decision of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in respect of the right of Nubian children to acquire national identity papers.

15. (...) It also recommends that the State party allocate sufficient resources for programmes targeting the Roma community, for example, to solve the problems of their identity cards and statelessness and to involve Roma representatives and civil society organizations in the implementation of these programmes. (...)

19. (...) The Committee requests information on measures and actions taken by the State party to reduce statelessness bearing in mind its general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to its obligations under the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons which it acceded to on 7 February 2000.

17. (...) Reaffirming section 16 of its general recommendation 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens, the Committee recommends that the State party consider modifying its legislation in order to allow children of Emirati women to receive citizenship in conformity with the provisions of non-discrimination stipulated in article 5 (d) (iii) of the Convention.

18. (...) The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) continue its efforts to verify the nationality of the “Bidoun” without discrimination and grant nationality as appropriate; and (b) take appropriate measures to ensure their equal access to the labour market (article 5 (d) (iii) and (e)(i)).

14. (...) It should also ensure effective implementation of its policies aimed at higher employment rates for Roma, adequate political representation at all levels and equal access to citizenship and housing. (...)

17. (...) The Committee recommends that, in order to ensure that access to citizenship is granted on a non-discriminatory basis, the State party should remove any administrative and other obstacles and assist persons whose access to obligatory documentation is limited, such as persons of Roma, Serb and Bosniak origin.

14. (...) The Committee recommends that the State party adopt a national plan of action that includes special measures for the promotion of access by Roma to employment, personal documents, residence registration, adequate housing with legal security of tenure, education and other economic, social and cultural rights, in accordance with general recommendation 27 (2000) on discrimination against Roma, and allocate sufficient resources for the effective implementation of that plan.

23. (...) The Committee recommends that the State party facilitate access to residence registration and Russian citizenship by all former Soviet citizens on the basis of a simplified procedure and irrespective of the ethnicity of applicants.

14. The Committee is concerned at the fact that Migration Law No. 285-04 narrows the scope of article 11 of the Dominican Constitution establishing that any person born in the State party is entitled to Dominican citizenship, with the exception of, in particular, children of persons “in transit”. The law provides that only children of residents born on Dominican soil are entitled to Dominican nationality, and defines “non-residents” to include, inter alia, undocumented migrants living and working in the State party, and temporary workers, which considerably limits access to citizenship for children of migrants of Haitian origin born in the Dominican Republic, and may lead to situations of statelessness. The Committee is furthermore concerned at the retroactive application of this law. The Committee notes with concern the negative and artificial interpretation of the term “in transit” in the State party’s legislation, which has seriously affected the status of many families of Haitian origin who would otherwise be Dominican residents (art. 5 (d) (iii)).

The Committee strongly recommends that the State party take appropriate measures to guarantee respect for the principle of non-discrimination in children’s access to nationality. The Committee further recommends that the State party consider the possibility of acceding to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which prohibit deprivation of nationality on discriminatory grounds and stipulate that a State party should grant nationality to persons born on its territory who would otherwise be stateless. The State party should reconsider the status of people who have been in its territory for a long period with a view to regularizing their stay.

15. The Committee is concerned about the fact that children of foreign mothers born in the Dominican Republic are provided with “pink” birth declarations by hospitals or clinics, and are registered in the Foreigners’ Book, which hampers their access to nationality, a birth certificate and subsequently a national identity card (“cédula”). Birth certificates and identity cards are key documents required for access to a wide range of services and for the equal enjoyment of rights including in the fields of employment, education, including university studies, and health services (art. 5 (d) and (e) (iv)). The Committee furthermore notes that this practice is in contradiction with article 11 of the Constitution of the State party.

The Committee emphasizes the existing link between the registration of births and the ability of children to enjoy civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, in particular education and health, as enumerated under article 5 of the Convention. The Committee recommends that the State party take appropriate legislative and administrative measures to ensure equal access to birth certificates for all children in the country, including in the case of late request for birth registration, as ordered in the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of 8 September 2005 in the case Yean and Bosico Children v. The Dominican Republic .

16. (...) The Committee urges the State party to take immediate steps, including the removal of administrative obstacles, to issue all Dominicans of Haitian descent with identity documents, including those whose documents have been confiscated or destroyed by the authorities.