A/HRC/7/23 page 9 27. Whatever the official grounds for conferral of citizenship, access may be manipulated, for example, by imposing greater burdens upon individuals belonging to minority groups to “prove” descent or long-term residency, sometimes reaching far beyond immediate parentage and the individual’s capacity to comply. Poor communities, whether majority or minority, often live without documentation and lack the resources to meet bureaucratic conditions; however, the obstacles faced by persons belonging to minority groups who lack documentation are far more formidable. Mechanisms for denial or deprivation of citizenship are frequently found at an administrative level, and revolve around the processes of registration, documentation and identification. The authority and discretion of local-level officials may be exercised in a discriminatory manner against persons identified as belonging to certain ethnic or religious minorities. Such acts may not be subject to appeal or review and are generally made with the apparent support of the Government concerned. IV. INTERNATIONAL LAW CONSIDERATIONS 28. With limited exceptions, States owe a duty to protect and promote the complete panoply of human rights of all persons that are present within their territory, whether they are citizens or non-citizens, as established in paragraph 10 of general comment No. 31 of the Human Rights Committee. The rights of all persons belonging to minorities, as part and parcel of human rights, are equally protected.4 It is now recognized that the obligation of States to respect the rights of minorities is not limited solely to its citizens. 29. The distinctions that are permissible between the rights of citizens and non-citizens cannot be discriminatory on the basis of gender, race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. International law prohibits the discriminatory denial or deprivation of citizenship as a means of exclusion of persons belonging to minorities. The section below provides a brief analysis of relevant international human rights standards in this regard. A. Right to a nationality 30. The right to a nationality is a fundamental human right which is guaranteed without discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, ethnicity, language, religion, national origin or gender.5 Beyond article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims this right in unequivocal terms, the right to a nationality is further reiterated in a number of international and regional human rights instruments.6 Article 24 (3) of the International Covenant 4 See article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; general comments Nos. 15 and 23 of the Human Rights Committee; articles 2 and 3 of the 1992 Declaration on Minorities. 5 6 See article 2 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, paras. 1 and 2. Articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child explicitly state that the child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to acquire a nationality, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless. Moreover, “States parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality”.