1. Discriminatory Nationality Laws
As noted above, Kiribati is one of the five states in the Asia-Pacific region with gender discriminatory provisions in their nationality laws. These provisions limit the ability of women to confer nationality to their children, as only the father is able to confer citizenship if a child is born in wedlock. Additionally, children born outside of the territory to mothers with Kiribati citizenship cannot access citizenship automatically. The citizenship laws of Kiribati also deny women the ability to pass on their nationality to foreign spouses, restricting the conferral of nationality through marriage to male citizens of Kiribati. Unlike other Pacific island states like Tonga, Kiribati has a relatively small overseas population, with approximately 5,000 I-Kiribati individuals living in New Zealand and Australia. However, there are no reliable statistics on the number of persons affected by these provisions.
2. Lack of Legal Safeguards Against Childhood Statelessness
The limited jus soli provisions providing for a grant of citizenship to children born on the territory who are not entitled to any other citizenship, should in theory provide protection to both foundling and stateless children. However, the lack of explicit protection may limit the applicability of these laws.
3. Citizenship Stripping
A person of non-I-Kiribati descent can be stripped of Kiribati citizenship if they breach allegiance to Kiribati, obtain nationality of another country by voluntary act, or if the Minister deems it necessary for the “public good.” There are no protections against statelessness for those who have lost their Kiribati citizenship in these situations. This practice is also in violation of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, as “public good” is not an acceptable reason to deprive a person of citizenship. Furthermore, the Kiribati Citizenship Act explicitly states that an order made by the Minister on the deprivation of citizenship shall not be questioned or enquired into by any court of law or be otherwise justiciable.
4. Administrative Barriers
Kiribati reported a high birth registration rate of 92% in 2019. Although there has been a significant increase in birth registration rates since 2008, challenges persist, contributing to the remaining 8% of unregistered births. The geographical dispersion of Kiribati’s islands, spread across 33 locations over a vast distance, presents challenges in capturing all births. Limited and costly transport systems, along with unreliable internet connectivity, hinder the electronic transfer of information to a central database. There is a recognized need for a more centralized system to manage birth registration data, as reliance on paper-based forms, especially from outer islands, results in incomplete data. The CRC Committee emphasized the importance of removing penalty fees for late birth registration, as approximately 20% of birth information is estimated to be unaccounted for due to delays in form submission. Moreover, children born to unwed mothers face lower registration rates due to societal stigma associated with unwed pregnancy and single motherhood.
5. Statelessness and Climate Change
There are several articles and reports discussing the risk of statelessness among citizens of low-lying Pacific states like Kiribati, primarily due to the effects of climate-induced sea-level rise. With much of Kiribati’s land only two meters above sea level, the potential consequences of sea-level rise could be catastrophic. Research has been conducted to assess the impacts of such environmental changes on communities like the Banabans from Kiribati, who were relocated to Rabi Island in Fiji in 1945.
This risk of statelessness from ‘disappearing states’ currently remains a hypothetical question, with a number of composite parts regarding the existence of statehood without territory, the continuation of citizenship without physical attachment and the potential lack of effective governments. Further, before any states ‘disappear’, the impacts of relocation and an increase in displaced populations on communities and individual’s nationality status will need to be faced.
