A/HRC/19/43
the enjoyment of property rights by non-citizens, in particular with regard to land or other
immovable assets.54 There have also been situations in which non-citizens have seen their
property confiscated, impacting their enjoyment of the right to adequate housing. 55
35.
Non-citizens may face difficulties in exercising their right to adequate housing
because they are unable to enter lease agreements or are excluded from government
housing assistance as a result of lack of residence status or of basic identity documents.56
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has also pointed out that States
should take effective measures to ensure that housing agencies refrain from engaging in
discriminatory practices.57
Children’s rights
J.
36.
With regard to the impact of arbitrary deprivation of nationality on the enjoyment of
rights by children, one of the most evident problems relates to the right to education. Both
the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Rights
of the Child recognize that neither non-citizenship nor statelessness should have a bearing
on the enjoyment of the right to education.58 However, non-citizen and stateless children in
law and practice experience difficulties in exercising their right to education.59 The Special
Rapporteur on the right to education has pointed out that many countries formally guarantee
this right to all citizens in their national constitutions.60 While this does not imply that noncitizens cannot access education, the lack of a constitutional guarantee of equal access to
education for everyone may present a problem when non-citizens seek to challenge
education policies that exclude them. Thus, domestic law or policy may directly exclude
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
Human Rights Committee, Adam v. Czech Republic (footnote 4 above); Inter-American Court of
Human Rights, Ivcher Bronsteun v. Peru, Series C, No. 74, 6 February 2001; A/HRC/13/3, para. 53;
van Waas, “The situation of stateless persons” (footnote 42 above), pp. 23-24; UNHCR, discussion
paper presented at the Regional Expert Roundtable on Good Practices for the Identification,
Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and the Protection of Stateless Persons in South East Asia,
held on 28-29 October 2010 in Bangkok, p. 28; Farquharson, “Statelessness in Central Asia”
(footnote 42 above), pp. 70-72; report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review –
Lebanon (A/HRC/16/18).
Human Rights Committee, communication No. 747/1997, des Fours Walderode v. Czech Republic,
Views adopted on 30 October 2001; CERD/C/62/CO/9.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, concluding observations: Azerbaijan
(E/C.12/1/Add.104), para. 15; Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, concluding
observations: Luxembourg (CERD/C/LUX/CO/13), para. 17.
Communication No. 18/2000, F.A. v. Norway, Views adopted on 21 March 2001; Committee on
Economic Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 4.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 13 (1999) on the right to
education, para. 6 (b); Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 6 (2005) on the
treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin, para. 41; see also
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 30, para. 30;
reports of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education (A/HRC/14/25, A/HRC/17/29 and Corr.1);
1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, art. 22.
See, for instance, Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, concluding observations: Sri
Lanka (E/C.12/1/Add.24), para. 8; Italy (E/C.12/1/Add.103), paras. 24 and 45; Committee on the
Rights of the Child, concluding observations: Belize (see CRC/C/15/Add.99, para. 16); Djibouti
(CRC/C/15/Add.131), paras. 47 and 49; Spain (CRC/C/15/Add.185), para. 27; Iceland
(CRC/C/15/Add.203), para. 36; Kyrgyzstan (CRC/C/15/Add.244), para. 53; Islamic Republic of Iran
(CRC/C/15/Add.254), para. 37.
E/CN.4/2003/9/Add.1, para. 15; A/HRC/14/25/Add.3, para. 33; A/HRC/17/29 and Corr. 1, para. 40.
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