This submission of written evidence on the UK will be included in the shadow report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as part of the project led by Just Fair and commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
This submission analyses the right to a nationality and human rights challenges pertaining to statelessness in the UK. It highlights why statelessness remains an issue in the UK, focusing in particular on Statelessness Determination and Protection and Children’s right to a nationality and birth registration.
The submission urges reviewing States to make the following recommendations to Romania:
- Fully incorporate and comply with the 1954 Convention and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including recognising ‘statelessness status’ as a protection status, ensuring that its definition of ‘stateless person’ is fully consistent with the 1954 Convention, and eliminating provisions that exclude stateless persons from being recognised as stateless.
- Introduce adequate procedural safeguards and protection during the statelessness determination procedure, including ensuring access to legal aid and to economic and social rights.
- Protect the right to acquire British citizenship of all children born in the UK who would otherwise be stateless, ensuring they acquire British citizenship as soon as possible after birth, and ensure the birth of all children is registered.
- Ensure that stateless persons have access to adequate legal advice and (free) legal aid in British nationality applications in all UK jurisdictions.
- Protect everyone’s right to a nationality without discrimination, and ensure that law, policy and practice is in line with the UK’s international obligations, including the duty to avoid statelessness, to take steps to achieve the full realisation of economic, social and cultural rights, and adherence to adequate procedural safeguards.
- Repeal clause 10 of the Nationality and Borders Act to implement a full safeguard to prevent statelessness at birth in line with the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and prevent children born in the UK from growing up stateless.
- Undertake information and awareness-raising campaigns to ensure that all stateless people, including members of Roma communities, are informed about their nationality at citizenship rights and access adequate advice.
Find other written submissions to the call for evidence and learn more about the project.
To learn more about why statelessness remains an issue in the UK, read our Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 41st session of the Universal Periodic Review on the UK.
