Legal guarantees for the protection of the rights of the child in the event of a change of citizenship: international legal obligations and national practice

The article analyzes legal guarantees for the protection of the rights of the child in the event of a change of citizenship in the context of international legal obligations and national law-enforcement practice. The child’s right to citizenship is examined as a fundamental right enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the state’s obligations to prevent childhood statelessness, preserve the child’s identity, and take into account the best interests of the child when changing his or her legal status. Using the Republic of Kazakhstan as a case study, the article explores mechanisms for changing a child’s citizenship in connection with changes in the citizenship of parents, adoption, and other family-law circumstances, including the role of judicial and constitutional protection. It concludes that national regulation generally complies with international standards, while identifying certain problematic issues related to terminological ambiguity, the prohibition of dual citizenship, and the restoration of citizenship for persons who lost it in childhood. Measures are proposed to improve legislation and law-enforcement practice in order to strengthen legal guarantees and prevent statelessness.

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