ISI Database on Statelessness and
Human Rights

5. Recalling its general recommendation No. 8 (1990) concerning the interpretation and application of article 1 (1) and (4) of the Convention and its guidelines for reporting under the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party produce statistics, disaggregated by sex and age, on the socioeconomic situation of ethnic groups and foreign nationals, including migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons, in particular their access to education, employment, health care and housing, and on their participation in public and political life with a view to creating an empirical basis for assessing the equal enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Convention. (...)

25. Recalling its previous concluding observations and its general recommendation No. 27 (2000) on discrimination against Roma, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(b) Expedite the adoption of the necessary amendments to the Civil Registration Act to address the administrative shortcomings of the civil registry system with a view to remove legal and other barriers in obtaining identity cards and provide durable solutions to ensure that persons without identity documents can enjoy their basic rights under article 5 of the Convention;

29. The Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary measures:

(a) To establish a functional local integration mechanism for migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons in areas such as education, employment, housing, social assistance and health-care services, and adopt and implement in that regard a national strategy and action plan, which should include benchmarks, indicators of progress and a time frame for monitoring implementation;

(b) To prevent and address all forms of discrimination and xenophobia against migrants, refugees, stateless persons and asylum-seekers, ensure that law enforcement officials act in accordance with the Convention and international standards when forcibly removing foreigners, including by monitoring their activities and investigating, prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators of human rights abuses with appropriate penalties, and ensure access to effective remedies and reparations for victims;

5. Recalling its general recommendation No. 8 (1990) concerning the interpretation and application of article 1 (1) and (4) of the Convention, and its guidelines for reporting under the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party collect reliable, updated and comprehensive statistics on the demographic composition of the population, in full respect of the principle of self-identification, particularly on Indigenous Peoples and non-citizens, including refugees, asylum-seekers, undocumented migrants and stateless persons, together with socioeconomic indicators, disaggregated by gender and age, and languages spoken, concerning access to education, employment, health care and housing with a view to creating an empirical basis for assessing the equal enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Convention. (...)

41. Recalling its general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(...)

(b) Ensure birth registration without discrimination, irrespective of whether mothers possess identity documents;

(...)

(d) Establish a dedicated and effective determination procedure in relation to statelessness;

(e) Ratify the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness;

140.24 Provide training to public officials on nationality and statelessness at all administrative levels, and make publicly available comprehensive national data to improve the protection of stateless persons in the country

140.23 Adopt all necessary measures to implement a comprehensive national plan for the protection of the status of stateless persons in order to give full effect to the rights enshrined in the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, including the right of residence

6. Recalling its previous concluding observations, the Committee recommends that the State party produce statistical data, disaggregated by sex and age, on the socioeconomic situation of ethnic groups and non-citizens, including migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons, on their access to education, employment, health care and housing and on their participation in public and political life, with a view to creating an empirical basis for assessing the equal enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Convention. The Committee also recommends that the State party improve and diversify data collection on the ethnic composition of its population on the basis of self-identification and anonymity. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to its general recommendations No. 4 (1973) concerning reporting by States parties and No. 24 (1999) concerning article 1 of the Convention.

36. Recalling its previous concluding observations, the Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party revise its Nationality Code so that Moroccan women are able to transmit their nationality to husbands of foreign origin and thus enjoy rights equal to those enjoyed by Moroccan men and, in this connection, expedite the adoption of the 2017 bill amending article 10 of the Code.

37. While noting the State party’s efforts to prevent statelessness, the Committee is concerned about the difficulties associated with registering births and granting Moroccan nationality to children born on Moroccan territory to stateless parents. It is also concerned about reports that many refugees and asylum-seekers, particularly single mothers from sub-Saharan countries, are unable to register their newborn babies because some hospitals withhold birth notification documents pending payment of delivery fees, creating an obstacle to registration with the civil registry and consular authorities and increasing the risk of statelessness (arts. 2 and 5).

38. In the light of its general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens, the Committee recommends that the State party amend the Nationality Code to bring it into line with international standards on the prevention and reduction of statelessness, in particular by adopting provisions allowing Moroccan nationality to be granted to a child born in Morocco who would otherwise be stateless. It also recommends that the State party ensure that the issuance of birth notification documents is not conditional on payment of delivery fees.

43. (...) The Committee encourages the State party to accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

27. The State party should: 

[...]

(d) Establish statelessness determination procedures to prevent and reduce statelessness and follow up on the commitment expressed during the dialogue to ratify the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

34. The Committee welcomes the formal public apology offered by the President in 2022 to 25,671 so-called “erased” persons (persons from the former Yugoslavia who were removed from the country’s Register of Permanent Residents in 1992 following the independence of Slovenia in 1991) and takes note of the law adopted in 2010 to regulate their legal status. However, it observes that, according to information received, only 1,770 such persons applied for restoration of their status within the legal deadline under the 2010 law, and only 241 received permanent residence permits at the time, reportedly owing to the short time limits, the lack of information about the procedure and the difficulties in meeting the burden of proof. In addition, the Committee is concerned about reports that several such persons remain stateless, that the erasure particularly affected people belonging to the Roma community and that many “erased” persons received insufficient reparation under the Act Regulating Compensation for Damage Sustained as a Result of Erasure from the Register of Permanent Residents. The Committee takes note of the delegation’s explanation about the possibility of reinstating residence permits under the Aliens Act (art. 51 (1) and (2)), but also takes note of reports indicating that this legislation provides only for the possibility of residence status that is temporary, and that, where such a legal pathway would be possible, the process would be lengthy and cumbersome (arts. 3 and 16).

35. Recalling its previous concluding observations, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt additional measures to ensure that “erased” persons have the right to restore their permanent resident status, ensure that all individuals who were victims of erasure receive full and effective reparation, including restitution, compensation and satisfaction, and take all steps necessary to identify and protect stateless persons who were subjected to erasure.

20. Noting with appreciation the measures taken to end statelessness and achieve universal birth registration, the Committee recalls target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals and recommends that the State party:

(a) Continue its efforts to ensure the right of all children, regardless of their parents’ immigration or residence status, to be registered at birth and have access to identification cards, such as by: (i) simplifying the documentation requirements for birth registration and the issuance of birth certificates, particularly for children of parents who do not have the required documents; (ii) waiving fines for late birth registration for families in need; and (iii) ensuring that the Balaga Suyunchu birth allowance is available to all families who need it;

(b) Simplify the application procedures for citizenship and residency, with a view to facilitating the acquisition of nationality for children who would otherwise be stateless and ensuring that children without a regular residence status have access to basic services;

(c) Develop a procedure to determine the stateless status of children in order to properly identify and protect stateless children, and consider ratifying the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, in line with its commitments made in 2019.

35. Recalling targets 3.3 and 3.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(b) Ensure the access of asylum-seeking, refugee, migrant and stateless children to primary health services;

6. Recalling its general recommendation No. 8 (1990) concerning the interpretation and application of article 1 (1) and (4) of the Convention, and its guidelines for reporting under the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party produce disaggregated statistics on the socioeconomic situation of minority groups, including members of the Roma and Serb minorities, and of non-citizens such as refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants and stateless persons, and on their access to education, employment, health care and housing with a view to creating an empirical basis for assessing the equal enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Convention. (...)

20. The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to enhance the provision of legal aid to those vulnerable to racial discrimination, including members of the Roma and Serb ethnic minorities, migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons, including by allocating adequate financial resources and by ensuring the availability of legal aid at the regional and local levels. It also recommends that the State party raise public awareness about the availability of legal aid services in cases of racial discrimination.

28. The Committee recommends that the State party establish a dedicated and effective procedure for determining statelessness and take measures to ensure that stateless persons, particularly undocumented children, are able to enjoy their economic and social rights without discrimination, in particular regarding access to health-care services and education, including by providing them with a personal identification number.

23. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt the necessary measures to prevent and reduce statelessness in the State party, including among Roma, Sinti and Camminanti communities and to ensure the adequate promotion and protection of the rights of stateless persons. The Committee also recommends that the State party improve the identification procedure and measures for the protection of stateless persons, including through the adoption of a comprehensive legal framework on statelessness determination and protection and the elaboration of a national plan for the reduction of statelessness.

5. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation and urges the State party to produce statistical data, disaggregated by sex, gender and age, on the socioeconomic situation of ethnic groups and non-citizens, including asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons, on their access to education, employment, health care and housing and on their participation in public and political life, with a view to creating an empirical basis to enable it to assess the equal enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Convention. The Committee also recommends that the State party improve and diversify data collection on the ethnic composition of its population on the basis of self-identification and anonymity. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to its general recommendations No. 4 (1973) concerning reporting by States parties and No. 24 (1999) concerning article 1 of the Convention.

29. In the light of its general recommendation No. 30 (2004), the Committee emphasizes that birth registration is a prerequisite for the exercise of a wide range of human rights. It therefore recommends that the State party make the necessary amendments to the Senegalese Nationality Act and put in place a comprehensive birth registration strategy. By taking these measures, the State party will guarantee universal birth registration. As a result, all children born on its territory will be registered, regardless of their nationality or their parents’ residence status, thus preventing statelessness and ensuring that children can exercise their human rights, including their right to education.