110 HR 6520 IH: To increase global stability and security for the United
U.S. House of Representatives
2008-07-16
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.It is the purpose of this Act to increase
global stability and security for the United States and the international
community and decrease trafficking and discrimination by reducing the number of
individuals who are de jure or de facto stateless and as a consequence are
unable to avail themselves of their right to a nationality and its concomitant
rights and obligations and are excluded from full participation in civil
society.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Article 15 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights offers everyone the right to a
nationality.
(2)The right to a
nationality is a foundation of human rights, and a deterrent to displacement
and disaffection. The state is the primary vehicle through which individuals
are guaranteed their inalienable rights and are made subject to the rule of
law. Regional stability and security are undermined when individuals cannot
avail themselves of their right to a nationality and its concomitant rights and
obligations and are excluded from full participation in civil society.
(3)In the aftermath of World War II, millions
of people were displaced and arbitrarily deprived of their nationalities and
their protection of citizenship. In the 21st century, the adverse effects of de
jure or de facto statelessness still impact at least an estimated 11,000,000
million people worldwide and require a strong commitment by the international
community to address this serious issue.
(4)The lack of citizenship or the inability to
document one’s ties to a state often results in severe hardships and
discrimination, particularly the inability to pursue lawful employment and a
sustainable livelihood, own property, or enjoy legally protected family bonds
and increases the likelihood that such persons may fall victim to traffickers
and organized criminal groups who prey on the vulnerability of unprotected de
jure or de facto stateless persons. The Department of State’s Trafficking in
Persons Report for 2008 noted that stateless victims of trafficking face
difficulties in repatriating and in accessing critical medical, social, or
legal services and called on the international community to give greater
attention to birth registration and the provision of more effective and
accessible avenues for the acquisition of legal residency or
citizenship.
(5)Regional security is enhanced when States
effectively respect the right of nationality, as this right ensures the
availability of peaceful means of recourse to address grievances and claims,
including through national, regional, or international court systems.
(6)Countries have the sovereign right to
determine procedures and conditions for acquisition and termination of
citizenship, and exercise of this right should be linked to the responsibility
of preventing de jure and de facto statelessness and the respect for other
universal principles of human rights, in particular the universal
antidiscrimination norm.
(7)The 1954 Convention Relating to the Status
of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
were adopted to regulate the legal status and treatment of individuals who are
de jure or de facto stateless and to prevent de jure and de facto
statelessness.
(8)At
least an estimated 11,000,000 individuals worldwide currently are unable to
avail themselves of any effective nationality or cannot fully access their
rights as citizens and obtain protection from a country.
(9)De jure or de facto statelessness can
result from factors including political change, targeted persecution or
discrimination, transfers of territory, adoption of restrictive laws relating
to marriage, place or registration of birth, or incongruous national
citizenship laws.
(10)Individuals who are de jure or de facto
stateless are unable to avail themselves of the rights of free people
everywhere to an effective nationality, to the rights to legal residence, to
travel, to work in the formal economy or professions, to attend school, to
access basic health services, to purchase or own property, to vote, or to hold
elected office, and to enjoy the protection and security of a country.
(11)Article 24 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights provides that every child shall be registered at
birth and that every child has the right to acquire a nationality.
(12)UNICEF leads the
efforts with governments, particularly in the developing world, to promote
universal, accessible registration and documentation of all births but is hard
pressed to find the needed human and financial resources necessary to encourage
widespread implementation of needed reforms.
(13)Article 9(2) of the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women grants women equal rights with men
with respect to transmitting the nationality of their children.
(14)The Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been given the mandate by the
international community to work to prevent de jure and de facto statelessness
and to identify, protect, and find remedies for individuals now considered de
jure or de facto stateless.
(15)The UNHCR lacks sufficient resources to
undertake this important work in a systematic and comprehensive manner to
identify, protect, and find timely solutions for the millions of individuals
who are de jure or de facto stateless.
3.
(a)It shall be the policy of the United States
that the President and the Permanent Representative of the United States to the
United Nations work with the international community to increase political and
financial support for the work of the UNHCR to prevent and resolve problems
related to de jure and de facto statelessness, and to promote the rights of the
de jure or de facto stateless, by taking these and other actions:
(1)Increasing the attention of the United
Nations and the UNHCR to de jure and de facto statelessness and increasing its
capacity to reduce statelessness around the world by coordinating the
mainstreaming of de jure and de facto statelessness into all of the United
Nations human rights work, in cooperation with all relevant United Nations
agencies.
(2)Urging United Nations country teams in
countries with significant de jure or de facto stateless populations to devote
increasing attention and resources to undertake coordinated efforts by all
United Nations offices, funds, and programs to bring about the full
registration and documentation of all persons resident in the territory of each
country, either as citizens or as individuals in need of international
protection.
(3)Urging the creation of an Inter-Agency Task
Force on Statelessness with representation from UNHCR, UNICEF and other
relevant United Nations agencies that will coordinate to increase agency
awareness and information exchange on de jure and de facto statelessness to
ensure a consistent and comprehensive approach to the identification of
stateless groups and individuals and resolution of their status.
(4)Urging that nationality and de jure and de
facto statelessness issues are addressed in all country reviews conducted by
United Nations treaty bodies and relevant special mechanisms engaged in country
visits, and pursuing creation of a standing mechanism within the United Nations
to complement the work of UNHCR in addressing issues of de jure and de facto
statelessness that give rise to urgent human rights or security
concerns.
(5)Urging the UNHCHR to include nationality
and statelessness in all country-specific and thematic monitoring, reporting,
training, and protection activities, and across special procedures, and to
designate at least one human rights officer to monitor, report, and coordinate
the office’s advocacy on nationality and de jure and de facto
statelessness.
(6)Urging the United Nations to ensure that
its work on trafficking includes measures to restore secure citizenship to
trafficked women and girls, and to work with Member States to guarantee that
national legislation gives women full and equal rights regarding
citizenship.
(7)Urging the United Nations to increase its
capacity to respond to the needs of de jure or de facto stateless individuals,
particularly children, and to strengthen and expand the United Nations
protection and assistance activities, particularly in field operations, to
better respond to the wide range of protection and assistance needs of de jure
or de facto stateless individuals.
(8)Urging the UNICEF to increase its efforts
to encourage all Member States of the United Nations to permit full and easy
access to birth registration for all children born in their territories,
particularly in Member States in which there are displaced populations, and
work with the UNHCR and Member States to ensure the issuance of birth
certificates to all children born to refugees and displaced persons.
(b)Authorization of
appropriationsIn addition to
regular United States contributions to the UNHCR, there is authorized to be
appropriated not less than $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent
fiscal year to be made available to improve the UNHCR’s assistance to de jure
or de facto stateless individuals. Such funds may be used to—
(1)protect the rights, meet emergency
humanitarian needs, and provide assistance to de jure or de facto stateless
groups and individuals;
(2)provide additional resources to—
(A)increase the
number of protection officers;
(B)increase the
number of professional staff in the statelessness unit; and
(C)train protection officers and United
Nations country teams in the field to identify, reduce, protect, and prevent de
jure and de facto statelessness;
(3)improve identification of de jure or de
facto stateless groups and individuals by carrying out a comprehensive annual
study of the scope of de jure and de facto statelessness worldwide, including
causes of de jure and de facto statelessness and dissemination of best
practices for remedying de jure and de facto statelessness; and
(4)increase the United Nations educational and
technical assistance programs to prevent de jure and de facto statelessness,
including outreach to Member States and their legislatures, with particular
emphasis on those countries determined to have protracted de jure or de facto
statelessness situations.
(c)Authorization of
appropriations to the UNICEFIn addition to regular United States
contributions to the UNICEF, there is authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000
for fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent fiscal year be made available to
augment to the UNICEF’s ability to aid countries with significant de jure or de
facto stateless populations to bring about the full registration of all
children born to de jure or de facto stateless parents.
4.
(a)Given the importance
of obtaining and preserving nationality and the protection of a government, and
of preventing the exploitation or trafficking of de jure or de facto stateless
groups or individuals, the President shall make the prevention and reduction of
de jure or de facto statelessness an important goal of United States foreign
policy and human rights efforts. Such efforts shall include—
(1)calling upon host countries to protect and
assume responsibility for de jure or de facto stateless groups or
individuals;
(2)working with countries of origin to
facilitate the resolution of problems faced by de jure or de facto stateless
groups or individuals;
(3)working with countries of origin and host
countries to facilitate the resolution of disputes and conflicts that cause or
result in the creation of de jure or de facto statelessness;
(4)encouraging host countries to afford de
jure or de facto stateless groups or individuals the full protection of the
1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961
Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and all relevant international
conventions;
(5)directing the Secretary of State to provide
assistance to countries to prevent and resolve situations of de jure or de
facto statelessness and to prevent the trafficking or exploitation of de jure
or de facto stateless individuals;
(6)directing the
Office of Trafficking in Persons of the Department of State to continue to
document and analyze the effects of statelessness on trafficking in persons,
both as a cause of trafficking and as an obstacle to reaching and assisting
trafficked persons; and
(7)encouraging and facilitating the work of
nongovernmental organizations in the United States and abroad that provide
legal and humanitarian support to de jure or de facto stateless groups or
individuals, to increase the access of de jure or de facto stateless groups or
individuals to such organizations, and to encourage other governments to
provide similar support and access.
(b)
(1)Given the importance
of preventing new instances of de jure or de facto statelessness and the
trafficking of de jure or de facto stateless individuals, and of protecting the
human rights of de jure or de facto stateless individuals, the President shall
submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report that includes the
following:
(A)A detailed
explanation of what changes, if any, to United States law would have to occur
should the United States wish to comply with the terms of the 1954 Convention
Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons or the 1961 Convention on the
Reduction of Statelessness.
(B)Information on de jure or de facto
stateless individuals in the United States, or under the jurisdiction of the
United States, and their conditions. Such information should, with respect to
such individuals, include information relating to their places of birth, causes
of de jure or de facto statelessness, nationalities at birth, descriptions of
family conditions, and descriptions of available assistance.
(C)Descriptions of Federal policies and
programs relating to de jure or de facto stateless individuals in the United
States or under United States jurisdiction, including recognition of status,
documentation requirements, assistance, and detention.
(D)A list of countries and territories with
significant de jure or de facto stateless populations under their jurisdictions
and the conditions and consequences of such de jure or de facto statelessness
of such individuals.
(E)United States international efforts to
prevent further de jure or de facto statelessness and encourage the granting of
full legal protection of the human rights of de jure or de facto stateless
individuals.
(2)It shall be the policy
of the United States to comply with the principles and provisions of the 1954
Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention
on the Reduction of Statelessness to the fullest extent possible and to
encourage other countries to do so as well.
(3)Actions by
Secretary of State
(A)Increase in
resources and staffThe
Secretary of State shall permanently increase in the Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration in the Department of State the resources dedicated to
and staff assigned to work toward the prevention and resolution of de jure and
de facto statelessness and the protection of de jure or de facto stateless
individuals.
(B)To coordinate United States policies toward
combating de jure and de facto statelessness, the Secretary of State shall
establish an Interagency Working Group to Combat Statelessness. This working
group should include representatives of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and
Migration, the Bureau of International Organizations, the Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor, the Office of Trafficking in Persons of the Department
of State, and the United States Agency for International Development, as well
as representatives from relevant offices of the Department of Justice and
relevant offices of the Department of Homeland Security.
(4)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection.