A/80/205
of that freedom – resulting, for example, from terrorist attacks against religious
minorities 11 or the failure of the State to condemn violence against minorities and
itself destroying places of worship 12 – causes many to have to flee their countries of
origin and leads them to be “on the move”, thereby heightening the importance of
such freedom for such persons, but also for all persons on the move.
A.
Denial or deprivation of citizenship and denaturalization relating
to freedom of religion or belief
12. The denial or deprivation of citizenship and denaturalization of people on the
basis of their religion or belief is a long-standing strategy used by some States in an
attempt to sidestep legal obligations to such people 13 or to silence them. This can
precipitate a swath of human rights violations, result in internal or external
displacement and lead to discrimination against asylum-seekers, refugees and
migrants.
13. Examples raised by human rights mechanisms include deportations due to
alleged “illegal religious activity”, 14 revocation or denial of citizenship on the basis
of religion or belief and sectarianism, 15 efforts to forcibly recruit those belonging to
a particular religion into the military through the promise of citizenship, 16 the
expulsion of missionaries, the designation of non-citizens belonging to a particular
religious denomination as allegedly constituting a security threat and the cancellation
of their residency or outright denial of citizenship for those who do not belo ng to the
majority religion, 17 and forced exile for religious leaders through threats and
residency revocations. 18
14. Denial of citizenship, including on the basis of religious or belief identity, can
also precipitate genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. In its order on the
request for the indication of provisional measures against Myanmar, the International
Court of Justice determined that the facts before it, including denial of citizenship,
systematic violence and killing and mass deportation, made it plausible that genocide
was being committed against the Rohingya. 19 Possible crimes against humanity with
regard to deportation and ethnic/religious persecution committed by Myanmar against
the Rohingya are also being investigated by the International Criminal Court, whose
Pre-Trial Chamber III noted in 2019, among other things, that the policies and laws
of Myanmar had gradually deprived the Rohingya of citizenship, thereby rendering
them stateless. 20
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11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
25-11829
See communication EGY 6/2017. All communications mentioned in the present report are
available from https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments.
See communication IND 9/2015.
A/75/385, paras. 25–39.
See communication UZB 6/2012.
See communications BHR 5/2016 and BHR 5/2017. See also A/HRC/38/50, para. 53; and
CCPR/C/VNM/CO/3, para. 56.
See www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/religion/cfis/cfi -ga80/subm-freedomreligion-belief-cso-4-christian-solidarity-worldwide.pdf.
A/HRC/4/21/Add.3, para. 45.
See communications NIC 2/2024, NIC 2/2023 and NIC 2/2022. See also
www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/religion/cfis/cfi -ga80/subm-freedomreligion-belief-cso-13-joint-submission-association-pr-cern.pdf and www.ohchr.org/sites/
default/files/documents/issues/religion/cfis/cfi-ga80/subm-freedom-religion-belief-cso-3-adfinternational.docx.
See www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/178/178-20200123-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf,
paras. 53–56.
See www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CourtRecords/CR2019_06955.PDF, para. 67.
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