CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.9
Page 6
mere alien. This would be the case, for example, of nationals of a country who have
there been stripped of their nationality in violation of international law and of
individuals whose country of nationality has been incorporated into or transferred to
another national entity whose nationality is being denied them. The language of article
12, paragraph 4, moreover, permits a broader interpretation that might embrace other
categories of long-term residents, including but not limited to stateless persons
arbitrarily deprived of the right to acquire the nationality of the country of such
residence. Since other factors may in certain circumstances result in the establishment
of close and enduring connections between a person and a country, States parties should
include in their reports information on the rights of permanent residents to return to
their country of residence.
21. In no case may a person be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his or her
own country. The reference to the concept of arbitrariness in this context is intended
to emphasize that it applies to all State action, legislative, administrative, and
judicial; it guarantees that even interference provided for by law should be in
accordance with the provisions, aims and objectives of the Covenant and should be, in any
event, reasonable in the particular circumstances. The Committee considers that there
are few, if any, circumstances in which deprivation of the right to enter one’s own
country could be reasonable. A State party must not, by stripping a person of nationality
or by expelling an individual to a third country, arbitrarily prevent this person from
returning to his or her own country.