25. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (see CRC/C/15/Add.261, para. 43) and 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, who 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 civil society.
26. The Committee is concerned about the hindrances experienced by many children to obtaining Nepalese nationality. It is especially concerned that:
(a) Acquisition of Nepalese citizenship by descent is conditional on evidence that both the father and mother of the child are Nepalese citizens; furthermore, it excludes children of unwed mothers, children of a Nepalese mother and a foreign or unknown father, children of refugees or of parents who are unable to prove citizenship, and children of same-sex parents;
(b) Children of Nepalese mothers and non-national fathers are not granted Nepalese citizenship until they attain majority, which exposes them to the risk of statelessness until adulthood;
(c) The criteria for transmission of citizenship from Nepalese mothers to their children remain discriminatory, as they require the mother to be a resident of Nepal, exclude children born to women who are not permanent residents, and make citizenship subject to revocation for children whose previously unidentified father is later proven to be a foreigner.
27. The Committee recommends that the State party amend, as a matter of priority, relevant legislation, particularly the Birth, Death and Other Personal Event (Vital Registration) Act of 1976, the Citizenship Act of 2006 and articles 11 (3), 11 (5) and 11 (7) of the Constitution to ensure full compliance with articles 7 and 8 of the Convention. The Committee also recommends that the State party amend its legislation on transmission of nationality by:
(a) Removing the requirement for both parents to prove citizenship;
(b) Making citizenship by descent accessible through proof of citizenship of one of the parents, regardless of the parent’s sex;
(c) Making the acquisition of Nepalese nationality by descent accessible to children at birth.
60. The Committee welcomes the State party’s strong cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the issue of resettlement of refugees from Bhutan. However, the Committee regrets that, despite its previous recommendations (see CRC/C/15/Add.261, para. 80), the State party has not established a national refugee and statelessness legal protection framework. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about:
(b) The lack of refugee certificates and identity documents for Tibetan refugees born after 1979 and their children, and the resulting risk of statelessness;
(c) The absence of universal birth registration for refugee and asylum-seeking children and the barriers to receiving identification documents for Bhutanese children, children belonging to the growing Rohingya Muslim population and children of nonNepalese mothers or mothers who cannot prove citizenship;
61. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendations (see CRC/C/15/ Add.261, para. 80) and recommends that the State party:
(a) Take legislative, administrative and institutional measures to ensure that all children are registered at birth, including children born to refugees and asylum seekers;