The Right to a Nationality

Abstract

The right to nationality is one of the Human Rights, which by its composition and characteristics, has received different treatment in its regulation, since the constitutional frameworks have tended to regard it more as a person's legal status, rather than a human right. While it is true that various international instruments, such as the American Convention, have left a certain margin of discretion to States regarding modes of acquisition, it is a fact that the nationality is a right that is not subject to the voluntary policy of the states. The importance of protecting and ensuring the proper exercise of the right to nationality is such that the relevance and viability in the survival of many other rights depends precisely on the effectiveness of this right.