A/HRC/14/43/Add.3 “Bidoon” child, although all his siblings had been previously allowed access to the same school. The school administration allegedly argued that they could not accept “Bidoon” children anymore. The Special Rapporteur also received reports indicating that “Bidoons” are prohibited from working in the federal administration. They can indeed only obtain low-level positions in local administrations, where they earn as much as 10 times less than their Emirati colleagues holding similar positions. Moreover, “Bidoons” cannot receive social aid by the Ministry of Social Affairs, since only Emirati citizens and foreign workers residing in the country with their families12 can benefit from it. “Bidoons” would at present also appear to be refused issuance of civil registration documents, such as birth, marriage and death certificates, as well as driving licences. The Special Rapporteur was also informed about the fact that “Bidoons” often get harsher sentences than other offenders for the same kind of crimes. 49. Some “Bidoons” have tried to obtain citizenship for many years, if not decades. In spite of the fact that they were born on the territory of the United Arab Emirates and that they have never lived in any other country, they still have not been granted citizenship. Instead, the authorities have allegedly suggested that they go to the Comoros, obtain the Comorian nationality and then return to live legally in the United Arab Emirates with their newly acquired Comorian nationality. Among the “Bidoons” who have not been granted citizenship, it was felt that the naturalization of stateless individuals who are perceived as Persians, for instance, was more difficult than for those individuals perceived as belonging to the ethnic group of the majority of nationals of the United Arab Emirates (see the discussion above on the granting of citizenship, paragraphs 28–30). 50. The Special Rapporteur was nonetheless encouraged to learn about initiatives taken by the Government to deal with the situation of “Bidoons” living in the United Arab Emirates. As such, he welcomes the adoption of Ministerial Decision No. 167 of October 2006 which requested the conduct of a census of persons entitled to nationality and thereby triggered the start of a registration process resulting in the naturalization of 1,294 stateless individuals.13 The setting up in September 2008 of a special committee on the status of stateless persons which is to assess the case of every “Bidoon” and provide citizenship for those who are eligible also resulted in the naturalization of 51 stateless individuals. According to information received until May 2009, 1,500 “Bidoons” have now had their situation regularized. 51. While the efforts made by the Government to regularize the situation of “Bidoons” should be commended, much remains to be done, in particular when reports indicate that discrimination against “Bidoons” has increased in the last years. According to figures used by the Government, 8,500 cases are still pending. However, the Special Rapporteur noted a significant discrepancy between official figures and those quoted by representatives of civil society, concerning the total number of “Bidoons” residing in the United Arab Emirates. While government officials estimate that there are approximately 10,000 “Bidoons”, representatives of civil society are of the view that there are at least 100,000 “Bidoons”, if not more, thereby implying that more than 85,000 individuals still remain in a vulnerable status of statelessness. According to government officials, the reasons for this discrepancy stems from the fact that many people try to obtain the privileges and benefits attached to Emirati citizenship and therefore abuse the authorities by pretending that they are “Bidoons”, although they may be citizens of a neighbouring country. 12 13 14 Unskilled foreign workers (see discussion above, paragraphs 31–43) do not belong to the category of “foreign workers residing in the country with their families”; they indeed come to the United Arab Emirates unaccompanied by their families, due to their inability to provide means of subsistence to their families. See CERD/C/ARE/12-17, paragraph 98. GE.10-12576