Nationality deprivation

KEY MESSAGES

• Deprivation of nationality refers to any loss, withdrawal or denial of a person’s nationality, that has not been voluntarily requested.
• Deprivation can affect entire communities, as well as individuals, and happens for a wide variety of reasons.
• The impact of nationality deprivation is severe and long-lasting, catalysing other serious human rights violations – especially when it leaves a person stateless.
• International law imposes significant limits on the use of nationality deprivation by states, in particular the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality, the obligation to prevent statelessness, and the prohibition of discrimination.
• In the 21st century, deprivation of nationality has seen a resurgence as it is instrumentalised by some states in the context of national security and counterterrorism efforts, or as a tool to silence political opponents and human rights defenders.

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY

Deprivation of nationality refers to any loss, withdrawal or denial of someone’s nationality by a state, that has not been voluntarily requested. It can refer to either denying someone their right to acquire nationality, or taking away their nationality if they already possess it. Deprivation of nationality is not limited to individuals, and can affect entire groups and communities. These acts can occur deliberately, but can also happen automatically through operation of the law. Deprivation of nationality can also be referred to as citizenship stripping or denationalisation. 

Nationality deprivation happens in a variety of different contexts and for a number of reasons. There have been many cases of mass deprivation of nationality of entire groups, which are most often targeted at ethnic, religious, cultural or racial minorities. In the 20th Century, some examples include the mass denationalisation of Jewish people by Nazi Germany; denationalisation of Kurdish people in Syria and Iraq; denationalisation of black Mauritanians; and deprivation of nationality of the Rohingya in Myanmar. In the 21st century, Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic, and Muslim communities in Assam, India, are two further examples. Typically, a state’s reasons for mass deprivation centre around the desire to exclude a certain group who does not fit in with the notion of national identity propagated by those in power. It can also be used to scapegoat minorities, who can be blamed for economic and other failures. The removal of citizenship renders these groups stateless or at risk of statelessness, and can be combined with forced expulsion from the state. 

The majority of nationality laws worldwide also provide for the possibility of deprivation of nationality from individuals in certain circumstances. The most common ground for deprivation of nationality is where it has been fraudulently obtained. Other contexts that may trigger deprivation include acquisition of another nationality (in order to avoid dual citizenship); long-term absence from the country; and various acts seen as demonstrating either disloyalty to the state or a shift of allegiance to another state. 

Governments have also instrumentalised nationality deprivation as a tool to silence political opponents, human rights defenders and journalists, among others. This practice has been on the rise in contexts of growing authoritarianism, where it is used as a deliberate act to maintain existing power balances, further political agendas or to close civil society space. Several hundred human rights defenders in Bahrain and in Nicaragua are among those affected by this practice. 

INTERNATIONAL LAW LIMITS ON THE USE OF NATIONALITY DEPRIVATION

International law imposes significant limits on the use of nationality deprivation by states. The central norms are the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality, the obligation to prevent statelessness, and the prohibition of discrimination on certain protected grounds and between nationals, which are enshrined in core international human rights treaties. Article 15 of the UDHR states that no one shall be arbitrarily of their right to nationality – a norm that is repeated in a number of regional human rights treaties. Deprivation of nationality is considered arbitrary, and a violation of international law, if it is discriminatory in intent or effect, or if it does not meet the following cumulative conditions: that it is undertaken in pursuit of a legitimate purpose, provided for by law, necessary, proportionate and in accordance with procedural safeguards. The substance of this norm has been further fleshed out in several resolutions adopted by the UN Human Rights Council and associated UN Secretary General Reports. The Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as a National Security Measure synthesise how the existing legal framework applies in cases of deprivation of nationality in the national security or counter-terrorism context.

The prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality is further strengthened and given content by the duty of states to avoid statelessness. The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness explicitly provides that loss or deprivation of nationality should not lead to statelessness and also prohibits deprivation of nationality on certain discriminatory grounds. UNHCR has issued Guidelines for the interpretation and application of the 1961 Convention standards regarding loss and deprivation of nationality. 

THE IMPACT OF DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY

Deprivation of nationality has an acute impact on the individual. Loss of nationality results in the loss of the rights associated with nationality, including the right to reside in the country, the right to work, and a wide range of other socioeconomic and civil and political rights. Those who have had their nationality deprived may be removed to a country of second nationality (if they possess one), or in cases where the individual is rendered stateless, they may be left in limbo.

Mass deprivation of nationality results in disenfranchisement and exclusion of entire communities, and expedites further human rights violations, including forced displacement, persecution, systematic targeting, and even genocide. It has destabilised societies, has undermined economic progress, escalated conflict and caused immeasurable pain and suffering. Rising authoritarianism, growth of the security state, and increasing populism, xenophobia and racism are all factors that are placing citizenship under threat in ways not seen for generations. 

Deprivation of nationality also speaks to the weaponization of nationality – whereby nationality is treated not as a human right that everyone is entitled to, but as a privilege that is contingent upon behaviour or identity. This weaponisation of nationality erodes the right to nationality as a basic human right, and threatens the democratic, rules-based order premised on individual rights and a commitment to global peace that was created post-WWII. The growing (mis)use of citizenship stripping powers to target some, undermines the sanctity of citizenship for all.

[Last updated: December 2023]

Cover image by Greg Constantine