A/76/162 minority groups was falling in general; and Slovenia, indicating that minority groups were invited to attend some consultations. 45. Indeed, while there are sections for children, youth, women and girls, migrants, persons with disabilities, LGBTI persons, indigenous peoples and older persons, it seems that all main vulnerable groups are covered except one which was, intentionally, excluded: minorities. 46. Despite this exclusion, which is arguably discriminatory – or perhaps because of it – the present study will now turn to a number of global systemic obstacles to the full and equal participation of many minorities in the benefits of social and economic development and the noble vision of leaving no one behind in the Sustainable Development Goals, in the hope of highlighting areas of lacunae that need to be addressed. Statelessness 47. The denial of citizenship amounts to an almost complete barrier to participation in a country’s social and economic development. For millions of minorities in many of the world’s regions, a number that may soon increase exponentially despite the UNHCR Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2014–2024, lack of citizenship equates to statelessness and a resulting situation of having “no right to have rights” 33 in basic areas such as education, employment in many areas, access to public services and the right to own land and even, in the most extreme cases, to freely marry. R ather than being allowed to equally participate in a State’s social and economic development, they are excluded altogether from participating. As the Special Rapporteur pointed out in his 2018 report to the General Assembly, the vast majority of stateless populations today – more than three quarters – are persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. 34 In Asia-Pacific, the largest group of stateless persons are members of the Rohingya minority of Myanmar, at about 1 million, although they may in the coming years be supplanted in the list of shame by millions more belonging mainly to Muslim and Bengali minorities in India. 35 In the Americas, the largest group of stateless persons, at more than 200,000, are members of the Haitian minority in the Dominican Republic. In Africa, the largest single group of stateless persons are the almost 700,000 members of the Dioula and other minorities in Côte d’Ivoire, whereas in Europe most stateless persons belong to the Russian-speaking minorities in Latvia and Estonia, at around 300,000, followed by Roma minorities throughout Europe. As the Special Rapporteur also pointed out in his 2018 report, the statelessness of these millions of minorities is neither simply arbitrary nor accidental. It is the result of clearly intentional and discriminatory State legislation and practices in violation of international human rights law. 36 48. This almost complete exclusion of specific minorities from participation in a State’s social and economic development through statelessness remains largely unobserved and not commented upon, since to repeat the famous words of Hannah Arendt, they have “no right to have rights”. For the Rohingya, the consequences are extreme and almost endless: no right to vote, no right to own land, no right to attend public schools and universities, no right to travel without a permit between parts of Myanmar and no right to employment in public institutions to become teachers, doctors or nurses. The precarious nature of their situatio n means that they are also bereft of the most basic protections citizens would expect from the State, and this is particularly true when their vulnerability is amplified by intersectional discrimination: __________________ 33 34 35 36 21-09902 A/73/205, para. 31. Ibid., para. 21. A/74/160, para. 4. A/73/205, para. 32. 13/22