A/HRC/14/43/Add.3 52. While recognizing that there may be cases of abuses which impede the process of identification of “Bidoons” who are entitled to citizenship, the Special Rapporteur takes the view that more efforts are needed from the Government to ensure that due process of law is accorded to stateless individuals. He would like to recall that the right to a nationality is a fundamental human right which is proclaimed in unequivocal terms by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and which should be guaranteed without discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, in accordance with the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Moreover, as stated by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its general comment No. 30 (2004), States parties should “take into consideration that in some cases denial of citizenship for long-term permanent residents could result in creating disadvantages for them in access to employment and social benefits, in violation of the Convention’s antidiscrimination principles”. It is as such necessary to examine and swiftly process the applications for citizenship which have been pending for years and sometimes decades, in order to protect these individuals from further discrimination. 53. In addition to the above, the Special Rapporteur was informed about the impossibility for Emirati women married to foreign nationals to pass their nationality to their children14 and about the reservations made by the United Arab Emirates to article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women15 and to article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.16 As a result, children born to Emirati women and foreign nationals may become stateless when the father cannot pass it to his children under the legislation of his country or when the father is unwilling or unable to register children with his national authorities because there is no accessible diplomatic representation or because he has died or separated from the rest of the family before doing so. Furthermore, despite article 2 (d) of Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 concerning nationality and passports which prescribes that “A child born in the State or abroad to a national mother by law and of unknown father or stateless” is deemed a citizen by law, some of the Special Rapporteur’s interlocutors indicated that in reality when Emirati women marry stateless individuals, their children become stateless and may thus be subject to discriminatory acts. 54. The Special Rapporteur would like to refer to article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which prescribes that “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have […] the right to acquire a nationality” and that States parties “shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless”. Article 8 of the same Convention also states that “States parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference”. Consequently and in line with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s assertion that States parties should “reduce statelessness, in particular 14 15 16 GE.10-12576 In accordance with article 2 (c) of the Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 concerning nationality and passports, “Shall be deemed a citizen by law […] (c) a child born in the State or abroad to a national mother by law and whose affiliation to the father is not legally established”. This implies that a child born in the State or abroad to a national mother by law and whose affiliation to the father is legally established cannot be deemed a citizen by law. Article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women grants women equal rights with men with respect to nationality of their children. Considering the acquisition of nationality an internal matter which is governed by national legislation, the United Arab Emirates made a reservation and does not consider itself bound by this article. The United Arab Emirates is of the view that the acquisition of nationality is an internal matter, and one that is regulated and whose terms and conditions are established by national legislation. 15