Noting the important work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees in seeking to address and prevent the problem of statelessness, as guided by, in
particular, the conclusion of its Executive Committee on the identification, prevention and
reduction of statelessness and protection of stateless persons No. 106 (LVII) 2006,
Mindful of the endorsement by the General Assembly, in its resolution 41/70 of
3 December 1986, of the call upon all States to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms
and to refrain from denying those to individuals in their populations because of nationality,
ethnicity, race, religion or language,
Recalling General Assembly resolutions 55/153 of 12 December 2000 and 59/34 of
2 December 2004 on the nationality of natural persons in relation to the succession of States,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General submitted in
accordance with Council resolution 7/101 and the contributions made to it by States and other
stakeholders,
Recognizing that arbitrary deprivation of nationality disproportionately affects persons
belonging to minorities, and recalling the work done by the independent expert on minority
issues on the subject of the right to nationality,2
Expressing its deep concern at the arbitrary deprivation of persons or groups of persons of
their nationality, especially on discriminatory grounds such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,
Recalling that arbitrarily depriving a person of his or her nationality may lead to
statelessness and, in this regard, expressing concern at various forms of discrimination against
stateless persons that violate the obligations of States under international human rights law,
Emphasizing that the human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons whose nationality
may be affected by State succession must be fully respected,
1.
Reaffirms that the right to a nationality of every human person is a fundamental
human right;
2.
Recognizes that arbitrary deprivation of nationality, especially on discriminatory
grounds such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status, is a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
3.
Calls upon all States to refrain from taking discriminatory measures and from
enacting or maintaining legislation that would arbitrarily deprive persons of their nationality on
grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status, especially if such measures and legislation render a person
stateless;
1
A/HRC/10/34.
2
A/HRC/7/23.
2
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