the achievement of that aim.65 States should remove obstacles that prevent the enjoyment of social and economic rights by non-citizens, particularly in the areas of education, employment, housing and health.66 Statelessness disproportionally affects persons belonging to national minorities, and negatively impacts both individual and collective security. States should adopt measures to address and eradicate statelessness as an obstacle to full and effective social and economic participation. A lack of access to citizenship or lack of documentation to prove citizenship may affect individuals’ access to various areas of social and economic participation, as well as their ability to participate in decision-making on social and economic issues; for example, by participating in elections.67 Social and economic exclusion may in turn perpetuate a situation where individuals remain stateless. Legally and politically binding commitments at international and regional levels enshrine the human right to a citizenship and the principle of avoiding statelessness.68 It is in the interest of the State to promote cohesion and stability and to provide conditions for the effective social and economic participation of all by adopting measures to address and prevent statelessness. It is also in the interest of stateless individuals to make efforts to naturalize themselves as a way of reinforcing their sense of belonging and to access all the rights of citizens, including certain social and economic rights.69 In situations of de facto statelessness, when individuals may lack access to their formal citizenship, States should undertake appropriate solutions to overcome these obstacles. States could, for example, adopt simplified administrative procedures to enable civil registration and provide everyone with a legal identity, including through birth registration.70 States should address de jure statelessness through a legal framework that provides reasonable, non-discriminatory requirements and 65 66 67 68 69 70 CERD, General Recommendation No. 30 on “discrimination against non-citizens”, paragraphs 3–4 (2005). CERD, General Recommendation No. 30, paragraph 29. Roma and Sinti are particularly affected by the issue of a lack of personal documentation; see, for example: OSCE and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Handbook on Statelessness in the OSCE Area, International Standards and Good Practices, p. 55 (OSCE/UNHCR 2017). Inter alia UDHR, article 15; CRC, article 7; International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, article 29; CRPD, article 18; European Convention on Nationality (CETS 166), article 4(b); UN Conventions on Statelessness (1954 and 1961); and Istanbul 1999, paragraph 19. Ljubljana Guidelines, Guideline 35. UNHCR, Executive Committee, “Conclusion on civil registration No. 111 (LXIV) – 2013”, 17 October 2013; and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.9. Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Social and Economic Life 29