“We reiterate that the right to nationality is a fundamental right protected by article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality,” Cécile Pouilly, the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told journalists in Geneva.

She added that deprivation of nationality provided for by law had to comply with procedural and substantive standards, including the principle of proportionality. OHCHR is also concerned that arbitrary deprivation of nationality could lead to statelessness with serious consequences for the protection of the human rights of the individuals concerned.

“While recognizing the responsibility of States to maintain law and order, we remind the authorities that any measure should respect international human rights standards,” said Ms. Pouilly.

The Bahraini parliament, known as the National Assembly, recently met to discuss the revisions, supported by a royal decree on 31 July, to the 2006 Law on the Protection of Society from Acts of Terrorism.

The recommendations include increasing the detention period or revoking the citizenship of anyone found guilty of committing or inciting an act of terrorism. They also provide for banning sit-ins, rallies and gatherings in the capital, Manama.

OHCHR said that although it welcomes the Parliament’s recommendation that “basic liberties, particularly freedom of opinion, should not be affected to maintain a balance between law enforcement and human rights protection,” it reiterates its concern about the restrictions on public demonstrations and other public gatherings.

“We call upon the Government of Bahrain to fully comply with its international human rights commitments, including respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and association, and urge all demonstrators to exercise these rights in a peaceful manner,” the spokesperson said.

The UN has repeatedly called for dialogue among all parties in Bahrain since civil unrest, including clashes between security forces and demonstrators broke out in early 2011, when widespread protests first emerged in the country.

Stricken by a typhoon of austerity measures, facing titanic hurdles of unemployment, poverty and desperation, Greek society is literally between the hammer and the anvil. However, apart from the burning wave of anger, fury and sadness, among the citizens caused by the financial crisis, Greece is also torn by an explosion of xenophobic even racist responses.

These strong sentiments seem somehow justified. Every now and then, articles are published, blaming immigrants for the crisis, television shows are exposing sinning foreigners, illegal immigrants, dangerous criminals.

Motos such as “you are not becoming a Greek, you are born a Greek “, “proud to be a Greek” are becoming popular especially among the young. All of a sudden, Greeks have been transformed to a nation without memory, selectively forgetting their own past, present and unfortunately future as immigrants, as foreigners in a strange land.

From police operations with the awfully sarcastic title “Xenios Dias” to raids of the ultra-right party “Golden Dawn” and people who admire their political agenda to working immigrants and foreigners, that have resulted to major injuries even deaths, discrimination, racism and hate are becoming more and more tolerated by the society. A society that stays still, like a speechless theatre audience watching passively, the escalating violence and brutality.

Violence is not limited to the physical or verbal abuse. Violence is also the discrimination, the blockage, the exclusion of any dignity, security and respect the integration within the society might offer. How this integration is achieved for a foreigner? Only by his legal status, his naturalisation as a proud to be citizen of the country that has become his adopted homeland.

In Greece is very difficult to obtain legal status as an immigrant or a refugee. Most people are caught in a maze of bureaucracy, frustration and fear. It is almost impossible to obtain naturalisation status unless you are married to a Greek citizen and having Greek children. An excruciating, exhausting process has to be followed including language and history tests, high fees and often a specialist’s highly paid advice, with ambiguous results.

Greece is facing a “painful” truth that was resting for decades to oblivion. Immigrants do exist on its soil, they do obtain legal status eventually, and they do raise a family, children that will eventually go to school, will participate actively in the society. These children do follow the fate of their parents, being denied naturalisation. They will always remain strangers, foreigners, outcasts. Their residence, affiliations, taxes, contribution to society as workers is simply ignored, is non-existent. The state simply does not consider all of the above as sufficient for naturalisation; they do not prove alliance with the country. What does?

This is certainly a rhetorical question in a country where an American citizen of Greek descent can be naturalised even if he or she is completely alienated from the country, but due to his bloodline retains the right to be naturalised. Although Greeks do take pride of their fellow citizens of the world, they cannot tolerate the presence of foreigners on their land. Giving the chance to immigrants to naturalise would only benefit the country. Would create a homogenous population, contributing positively to society by paying taxes, studying, working, being grateful for their residency rights. Instead what is created is a house divided against itself; that house will not be able to stand.

According to the new draft law to be tabled in parliament, children of migrants in Greece will have to wait longer and file a lot more paperwork in order to apply for Greek citizenship, a report published by Eleytherotypia says.

On the other hand, foreigners who intend to invest in the country will face fewer obstacles in obtaining the Greek citizenship as they will be eligible for a ‘fast-track procedure’, according to the report.

The Council of State deemed unconstitutional the law, which was passed in 2010 and which is known as the Ragousis law after former Interior Minister Yiannis Ragousis a few weeks ago. The law allows those born to immigrant parents and legally resident in Greece for five years to get citizenship if they have studied at a Greek school for at least six years.

The changes include: increase in the number of schooling for children of migrants from 6 to 9 years and the increase in the number of years of residence of their parents from 5 to 7 or 8 years. Also, naturalised Greeks will be forced to give up their first nationality.

“ I was born in Greece. I am 26 and still don’t have a Greek citizenship,” Egyptian Nerveen Awad says.

“Especially when someone is actually born in a certain country, is speaking its language as though it were one’s mother tongue, has been taught its history ever since one was a child and has set up one’s life there it always seemed logical to me that one could also choose to become an official citizen of that country, but this is not the case in Greece,” she says.

Meanwhile, nineteen migrant rights groups gathered in central Athens on Tuesday evening at a press conference hosted by the journalists’ union ESHEA to protest against the court’s recent new ruling concerning the Ragousis law, Kathimerini writes.

In a joint statement, the 19 migrant groups accused the government of “adopting a right-wing agenda” with its decision to challenge the law.

Immigrants make up 10 percent of the country’s population.

For years, up until 2010, a person’s citizenship was determined solely by his or her parents’ citizenship. Only those with blood ties to Greece could become Greek citizens.

The Greek Ombudsman, which is also called the citizen’s advocate, is an independent authority aiming at mediating between the public administration and citizens, in order to help them exercise their rights effectively.

The purpose of this new website is to contribute to the improvement of information concerning immigration, asylum and citizenship.

The site includes special reports, findings and legislative recommendations of the Ombudsman on general issues of immigration, asylum and citizenship, as well as recent speeches, documents and opinions of the independent authority on specific issues which has been asked to mediate for.

It was founded in October 1998 and provides its services to the public free of charge. It has received more than 82.535 complaints during its eight first years of operation (from 1 October 1998 to 31 December 2006).

The site is at : http://www.synigoros.gr/?i=foreigner.el.home