giving rise to risks of statelessness, particularly for children who may not be registered at birth,
owing to their parents’ concerns around being sanctioned for unauthorised entry, or because of
exclusionary laws, policies or practices, particularly towards minorities.
Shahrzad Tadjbakhsh noted that statelessness can equally be a root cause and
consequence of conflict, forced displacement and migration. Where statelessness is a cause,
minority groups tend to be disproportionately represented as they are usually the ones that bear
the brunt of the discrimination, marginalisation and denial of basic rights often perceived as
"outsiders" or not belonging because of their ethnicity, race, religion or language. She suggested
that resolving existing protracted situations of statelessness could contribute to preventing
conflict and forced displacement. She further emphasized the possibility of preventing childhood
statelessness through the establishment of safeguards in nationality laws which allow children of
parents who are stateless or who are unable to pass on their nationality to acquire a nationality.
Another suggestion was for states to identify and protect stateless persons on their territory who
may be in a migratory situation through the establishment of statelessness determination
procedures.
Ms. Wai Wai Nu - Women’s Peace Network Arakan, addressed the topic of the panel
through the example of her own Rohingya community in Myanmar. She stressed that
statelessness hinders the access of many human rights. Among several factors causing
statelessness she highlighted the exclusion and marginalization of minorities. She also
emphasized that repressive and discriminatory laws policies and practices can also be a cause of
statelessness. Wai Wai Nu further underlined that the denial or deprivation of citizenship can
trigger violence, mass atrocities, forced displacement and sometimes even destruction of entire
community. She stated that the creation of the narrative of "outsiders" and "others" is often
aimed at justifying repressive policies and actions, which are often systematic and intentional
policies aimed at destruction of entire populations.
Wai Wai Nu stated that in order to address statelessness we need to address persecution
and denial of identity of minorities. She called upon states and the United Nations to review their
policies to address statelessness and minority issues in a holistic manner with consultation with
affected communities, as well as addressing ongoing and systematic exclusion, persecution and
deprivation of citizenship of minorities. She called upon states to address the root causes of
statelessness, inter alia, via reforming discriminatory citizenship laws, as well as to combat hate
propaganda against minorities. She called upon states to create favourable condition for
repatriation of displaced minorities and restore their citizenship rights. She further urged UN
and its agencies to review their statelessness policies taking into consideration specificities of
each conflict and context and in conformity with the Secretary-General’s Human Rights Up
Front initiative. She emphasized that most conflicts and situations of statelessness include
minority communities and further emphasized the importance of the promotion and protection of
the rights of persons belonging to minorities through, inter alia, promoting diversity and
inclusion.
Mr. P.P. Sivapragasam, Human Development Organization, noted that statelessness
continues to be a fundamental cause of discrimination, exploitation, and forced displacement of
minorities in all regions of the world. He stated that statelessness is a source of human insecurity
and forced displacement and conflicts. He noted that statelessness can be a result of political
upheaval, political crisis between the states, as well as discrimination on the basis of nationality,
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