A/HRC/40/71 V. Recommendations to ensure the right to a nationality for persons belonging to minorities through facilitation of birth registration, naturalization and citizenship for stateless minorities A. Discussion 68. The panel discussion was moderated by Amal de Chickera (Sri Lanka), Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, and presentations were made by Elizabete Krivcova (Latvia), Member of the Board of the Latvian Non-Citizen’s Congress; Khalid Hussain (Bangladesh), Chief Executive of the Council of Minorities; and Beneco Enecia (Dominican Republic), Director of the Center for Sustainable Development. 69. The panellists shared their experiences in ensuring the right to a nationality for minorities in their respective countries and made recommendations based on those experiences. They reaffirmed the fact that statelessness is often the result of human rights violations, leaving minorities socially, culturally and economically subject to marginalization and exclusion. Although stateless persons may enjoy certain rights in some countries, they are nevertheless still stigmatized and lack access to many important services and rights. Such situations should not be viewed as justified. 70. In their presentations, panellists emphasized the importance of using all available judicial, legal and administrative measures at the national, regional and international levels to fight to ensure the right to a nationality for stateless minorities, without discrimination. Panellists made reference to article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals, calling on States and other stakeholders to be guided by them when addressing statelessness of minorities. 71. Participants stated that it was essential for everyone to have access to the right to a nationality through, inter alia, access to civil documentation such as birth certificates, national identity cards and passports. Participants reaffirmed that the absence of such documentation often hindered the full realization of essential civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of minorities. Stateless minorities could in some cases be deprived of the opportunity to marry and form a family, education and employment opportunities, as well as access to basic social services. 72. Participants also highlighted the importance of acceding to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which sets out a number of rights to which stateless persons are entitled, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which provides a set of tools for eradicating statelessness. Participants and panellists also suggested the creation of a mandate of special rapporteur on the right to a nationality. B. Recommendations Legal and administrative framework 73. States should comply with their international human rights obligations and ensure the right to a nationality for all minorities without any form of discrimination. 74. States should ratify or accede to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and ensure their full implementation for everyone, particularly minorities. 75. States should ratify or accede to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as all other relevant international and regional human rights instruments, and ensure the implementation of the provisions relating to the right to a nationality therein. This also implies removing any reservations pertaining to those provisions. 10