International standards relating to nationality and statelessness

The right to a nationality is recognized in a series of international legal instruments, including:

• Article 15 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality."
• the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
• the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
• the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
• the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
• the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women,
• the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

The issues of nationality and statelessness are also regulated in:

• Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
• Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
• Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
• Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees
• Declaration on the Human Rights of Individuals who are not nationals of the country in which they live