A/HRC/55/35 mission in Ukraine and the Venice Commission, the majority of them have not been implemented, including those in the fields of governance and public services, elections and referendums, education, cultural activities and sporting events. Furthermore, two provisions suspend certain rights of those minorities who “identify their affiliation by ethnic origin” with an “aggressor State”, as well as with “the language of an aggressor State”. Some of these restrictions appear to be discriminatory and therefore not in line with article 18 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 62 In December, the Parliament of Ukraine approved the law that implemented additional recommendations from the Venice Commission.63 K. Minorities, discrimination and statelessness 57. In June, the Human Rights Council adopted, without a vote, its resolution 53/16 entitled “The right to a nationality: equality in nationality rights in law and in practice”, recognizing that the majority of the world’s known stateless populations are persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and that discriminatory nationality laws, policies and practices are a major cause of statelessness. The Council called upon States to – inter alia – review their laws, policies and practices that may cause statelessness, and directly engage with affected individuals to identify challenges and find solutions. The Council also called upon States to ensure that effective and appropriate remedies were available to all persons, including women, children, persons with disabilities, Indigenous individuals, persons of African descent, and persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, whose rights related to nationality had been violated – including the restoration of nationality and the expedient provision of documentary proof of nationality by the State responsible for the violation. 58. OHCHR in North Macedonia supported the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNHCR in assisting the authorities with their efforts to address the situation of statelessness in the country, which predominantly affects Roma and other ethnic minorities. As a result, the Law on Civil Registry was amended in June to grant every child born in North Macedonia the right to immediate registration in the birth registry irrespective of the parents’ citizenship or personal status, reducing the risk of statelessness. 64 59. In October, OHCHR contributed to a regional round table for South-East Asia on civil registration, legal identity documentation and the prevention of statelessness. The round table was co-hosted by the Government of Viet Nam and the UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. During the event, national government officials from South-East Asia shared their practical experiences identifying and addressing statelessness as an essential element of their national strategies to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and to “leave no one behind”. Among other things, officials shared effective domestic solutions for targeted populations, such as poor and marginalized communities or ethnic minorities. 60. In its concluding observations on Italy, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern about the number of stateless persons in the country, including among members of the Roma, Sinti and Camminanti communities, and about the lack of a national plan for the reduction of statelessness. The Committee recommended that Italy adopt the necessary measures to prevent and reduce statelessness in the country, including among the Roma, Sinti and Camminanti communities, and to ensure the adequate promotion and protection of the rights of stateless persons. The Committee also recommended that Italy improve the identification procedure and measures for the protection of stateless persons, including through the adoption of a comprehensive legal framework on 62 63 64 GE.23-26212 See the conference room paper of OHCHR on the situation of human rights in Ukraine: 1 August to 30 November 2023, available at https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/ hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session55/advance-versions/a-hrc-55-crp-2-en.pdf, paras. 90 and 91. See also https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/interactive-dialogue-oral-update-ukraine-19-122023. OHCHR has not yet analysed the implications of the law. See https://www.refworld.org/docid/64e5c8b54.html. 13