Instrumentalising citizenship : a global comparative analysis of legislation on deprivation of nationality as a security measure

Abstract

Recent years have seen a resurgence of states’ practices of nationality deprivation as security measure - repackaged for the 21st century as a counter-terrorism instrument. This report offers the first comprehensive global survey of relevant legislative provisions, covering 190 countries – discussing the prevalence and scope of these powers. For the most commonly applied deprivation ground – disloyalty or harm to the interests or security of the country – the report encompasses a longitudinal study of how deprivation powers have evolved since the year 2000, i.e. after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States and during the period marked by the rise and fall of ISIS. For this deprivation ground, the report also discusses the relevant authority to take deprivation decisions, which categories of citizens are targeted and whether citizenship stripping can result in statelessness. This global study highlights major concerns that come with instrumentalising citizenship in the fight against terrorism. Doing so a) undermines the security of the most fundamental legal status one can obtain – a nationality, which is also protected as a human right; b) is often implemented without sufficient procedural protections or safeguards against statelessness; c) in practice leads to arbitrariness, second-class citizenship and dis- crimination against minorities; d) threatens the international legal order and relations between states, by passing the problem of dealing with a possible security risk to another state instead of each state taking responsibility for its own citizens; e) risks normalising denationalisation as a legitimate power for states to hold over their citizens, with a knock-on impact for efforts inter- nationally to protect right to nationality and prevent stateless- ness. In light of this and of security experts’ warnings that this measure is counterproductive to the fight against international terrorism, it is imperative to call a moratorium on the use of citizenship stripping as a national security measure and for states to urgently revisit whether it is appropriate to keep these powers on their books.