[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 72 Introduced in House (IH)]







111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 72

To increase global stability and security for the United States and the 
 international community by reducing the number of individuals who are 
     de jure or de facto stateless and at risk of being trafficked.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 2009

   Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To increase global stability and security for the United States and the 
 international community by reducing the number of individuals who are 
     de jure or de facto stateless and at risk of being trafficked.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

    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.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    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.

SEC. 3. THE UNITED NATIONS.

    (a) Policy.--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 Appropriations.--In addition to regular United 
States contributions to the UNHCR, there is authorized to be 
appropriated not less than $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 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 UNICEF.--In addition to 
regular United States contributions to the UNICEF, there is authorized 
to be appropriated $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 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.

SEC. 4. THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Foreign Policy.--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) Domestic Policy.--
            (1) In general.--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) Statement of policy.--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 staff.--The 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) Coordination.--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 appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
        the provisions of this subsection.
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