IACHR calls on States to continue adopting measures to prevent and eradicate statelessness in the region

September 27, 2024

Washington, D.C. – On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) reaffirms the inter-American standards established in it's Resolution No. 02/23 on the right to nationality, prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality, and statelessness. At the same time, the Commission welcomes the efforts of the States of the region to consolidate national protection frameworks for stateless persons, and calls to continue adopting measures to prevent, reduce and eradicate statelessness.

In recent years, the Commission has observed the actions implemented by the States on this subject. Through Resolution 10434 of 2023, issued by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombia adopted a free procedure for the recognition of stateless status. This procedure extends to daughters and sons of the applicants, applies a differentiated approach, makes it possible to exercise rights and allows to opt for Colombian nationality by adoption after one year of residence in the country. Since 2019, the "Primero la niñez" measure has been in force, which ensured Colombian nationality to more than 112,000 children, born in Colombian territory, and that, due to the difficulties in accessing the documentation of the country where they were born, would have been at risk of statelessness. In addition, the Constitutional Court's ruling T-232/24 urged the Congress of the Republic to enact legislation on surrogacy that considers avoiding the risk of statelessness.

Panama made progress in identifying people at risk of statelessness within the framework of the XII National Population and VIII Housing Census in 2023, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Census. Making this situation visible is an essential step that will allow the State to adopt concrete protection measures. For its part, the amendment of Article 12 of the Federal Constitution of Brazil limits the right to renounce nationality when such renunciation generates statelessness.

The United States published the updated guidelines for stateless non-citizens in the United States who wish to obtain immigration benefits. These guidelines will help to standardize operational procedures for identifying potential cases of statelessness and clarifying when the State will consider a non-citizen stateless for the purpose of adjudicating immigration benefits. At the same time, the reform of Article 30 of the Political Constitution of Mexico eliminates the restriction on transmitting nationality of Mexicans born abroad, which may be essential to avoid cases of statelessness.

Despite these important advances, the Commission remains dismayed by the setbacks and challenges that remain to be addressed. In effect, the IACHR reiterates its concern over the amendments to Article 21 of the Political Constitution of Nicaragua, which provides for the loss of nationality of "traitors to the homeland." Its application has resulted in the arbitrary deprivation of nationality of at least 450 people identified as political opponents, in contravention of inter-American standards.

In Cuba, in July 2024, the National Assembly approved the Citizenship Law. This law allows for the deprivation of Cuban nationality of persons who: i) carry out acts contrary to high political, economic and social interests from abroad, when the citizenship authority considers it so; and, ii) cause serious harm to the country related to national security, endanger the stability of the State, international relations or the general health of the population, even without complying with the requirements and formalities of the procedure of deprivation of nationality.

Regarding the regulations of Nicaragua and Cuba, the Commission reinforces that nationality is a non-derogable right, and that its arbitrary deprivation, especially as a penalty or sanction for political reasons, is contrary to international human rights law.

In the Dominican Republic, the IACHR has observed the State's efforts to restore the nationality of at least 26,000 people, and the granting for naturalization to another 799 people affected by the Constitutional Court's ruling TC/0168/13, which resulted in the arbitrary deprivation of Dominican nationality of a considerable number of people and left stateless those who were not considered nationals of no other State. Despite this, 10 years after the adoption of Law 164-14, which establishes a special regime for people born in the Dominican Republic irregularly registered in the Dominican civil registry and on naturalization, challenges persist in its effective implementation; and people identified by the State as beneficiaries of said law remain without a solution.

In Uruguay, foreigners who obtain "legal citizenship" do not acquire Uruguayan nationality, seeing their access to certain rights limited. Based on this differentiation, they may face legal and practical barriers to proving their nationality of origin or are at risk of statelessness because they do not have the possibility of opting for nationality through naturalization. In addition, Law No. 19,682 "Recognition and Protection of Stateless Persons" and Law No. 18,076 "Right to Refuge and Refugees. Refugee Law" only grant legal citizenship, preventing access to nationality by naturalization. The IACHR welcomes the State's openness to recognize the problem and seek solutions to comply with its international obligations.

It also notes that laws containing discriminatory provisions against women to transfer nationality to daughters and sons in Barbados and The Bahamas remain in force. In the case of The Bahamas, the regulations persist, despite the decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council that allows children born in the Bahamas to acquire nationality at birth when one of their parents is a Bahamian national, regardless of their marital status.

Finally, it warns that people who migrate irregularly would face limitations in registering children in the States of transit and/or destination, which could generate risks of statelessness.

Therefore, 70 years after the adoption of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the Commission reaffirms the standards of Resolution No. 02/23 and reiterates eight recommendations to comprehensively protect stateless persons, and to continue strengthening measures to prevent, reduce, and eradicate statelessness:

1. Register children immediately after birth and grant a nationality in the territory of the State, if otherwise stateless, regardless of the legal or migratory status of the mother and/or father.
2. Develop simplified, free, affordable and non-discriminatory administrative procedures for late registration of births for all people.
3. Enact nationality laws that ensure women have the right to confer nationality on daughters and sons on an equal basis with men.
4. Not to deprive any person who may be stateless of their nationality.
5. Develop policies and programs that allow stateless people to be identified in order to design effective solutions.
6. Adopt centralized procedures to determine the condition of statelessness that ensure the guarantees of due process and are processed and resolved by a specialized body.
7. Facilitate the procedures and reduce the costs of naturalization procedures for stateless persons, as part of a durable solutions strategy.
8. Sign and ratify international instruments for the protection of stateless persons, such as the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate derives from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is composed of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 230/24

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