A/HRC/38/41/Add.1 92. The Special Rapporteur was informed that identity documents have not been issued or renewed to Tibetan refugees since 1995, which places the majority of them at risk of financial penalties under the 1994 immigration rules for irregular entry or presence in the State party, detention, deportation or refoulement. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to undertake a comprehensive registration exercise of long-staying Tibetans to protect them from statelessness and which guarantees their right to live, work and study in Nepal, and allows them to travel outside Nepal. 93. The Special Rapporteur was assured that of the 111,000 Bhutanese refugees, the majority had been resettled in third countries. In the course of his visit however, he was made aware that 8,500 Bhutanese were still residing in Nepal, with no permanent resolution of their status. He encourages the Government to ensure that their stay can be regularized, either through the provision of refugee documentation or citizenship, in order to protect them from statelessness and guarantee access to all their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. B. Access to citizenship 94. While the Special Rapporteur notes that citizenship certificates are the primary document that gives individuals a legal identity in Nepal, he received information that more than 4 million people in Nepal are at present without citizenship certificates. He notes that citizenship identification is instrumental for day-to-day life: for instance, to apply for a passport, open a bank account, vote, access higher education and government welfare schemes, or simply to buy a SIM card for a mobile telephone. In particular, women, children born out of wedlock, or children of a refugee or naturalized parent, are deprived of part of their rights owing to a lack of citizenship certificates, as a result of limited provisions in previous legislation. 95. The Special Rapporteur notes that restrictions for women in conferring citizenship on their children independently and in the same capacity as men are set out in the new Constitution (see article 11 (5), 11 (6) and 11 (7)). He is concerned that according to these provisions, Nepalese women can only transfer citizenship by descent if the father cannot be traced. If the father is a foreigner, the child can only gain citizenship through naturalization. He notes that these provisions are particularly challenging if the husband has migrated abroad or if the child was born abroad. 96. Despite several Supreme Court decisions affirming gender equality in access to citizenship, the Special Rapporteur was informed that in practice and particularly in areas outside Kathmandu, laws continued to be implemented in a discriminatory manner, particularly against women belonging to a minority. The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to ensure men and women have equal rights to citizenship, including the right to transfer citizenship to their children. People denied citizenship are at risk of statelessness, which denies them the protection of the State and puts them at heightened risk of violence, poverty, exploitation and other serious human rights violations. C. Internal migration 97. Owing to poverty and the lack of economic opportunities and because of climate change, a considerable proportion of the population of Nepal moves seasonally or permanently within Nepal. Most internal migrants move from the hills to the southern plains and from rural areas to urban centres. 98. The Special Rapporteur heard of bonded labour, forced labour and the trafficking of internal migrants, including children, in the agricultural, domestic, construction, service and manufacturing sectors. He was informed that several hundred children worked in the brick kiln industry. He encourages the Government to develop policies for early identification of victims, referral mechanisms, protection and assistance to persons trafficked for labour exploitation, and to increase counselling and awareness programmes. He further encourages the Government to consider internal migration for the next census or demographic survey, in order to develop policies which meet the needs of the population of internal migrants. 16