Through a multi-layered, overlapping collection of international and regional treaties, one solution for child statelessness is emerging: the obligation of the birth state to grant nationality to otherwise stateless children. The 1961 Statelessness Convention imposes this obligation partly, but has limited adherence. The International Covenent on Civil and Political Rights provides for a right to a nationality, but does not expressly identify which state is responsible. In addition, treaties in Europe and Africa only cover the right implicitly and partially, though treaties in the Americas cover the right expressly. The interpetation of these disparate treaty obligations is now coalescing into an coherent obligation. In combination with the obligation to take all decisions in a child's best interests under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we can now identify the birth state as the state responsible for ensuring that every child is born with a nationality.
This submission challenges the presumption that uk nationals will lose eu citizenship following Brexit. Until now, the dominant narrative has been drawn from the law on treaties or international organizations, and this article adds the human rights perspective to Brexit. Firstly, eu citizenship can be assimilated to nationality. While eu citizenship is unique, the status protected under international law is a legal bond a person has with a political entity. This protection certainly covers nationality, and this paper argues it can be understood to also protect eu citizenship. Secondly, international law prohibits arbitrary withdrawal of this legal bond with a person. The uk does not have jurisdiction over eu citizenship, so it is doubtful the uk can terminate eu citizenship unilaterally. Even if the eu were to withdraw eu citizenship on its initiative, it would still constitute retroactive law, discrimination, and infringement of sovereignty. It is also disproportionate, because the loss of eu citizenship is not necessary for Brexit. When Greenland withdrew from the eu, its residents retained eu citizenship. For these reasons, the revocation of eu citizenship would be arbitrary. A distinction must be made between the membership of a state in the eu which can be terminated, and the direct legal bond formed between a person and the Union, which is far harder to revoke. On this basis, any uk national who has acquired eu citizenship prior to Brexit, should not be divested of it following Brexit.
Note that some authorities cited herein may refer to the Refugee Convention as the "Geneva Convention of 1951" or similar. 2. Refugee Convention, art. 1A(1) (a person who has been considered a refugee under the
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.