Antiporda, Ma. Christiana P.

MMA15

Why is it important to know what your nationality is in the

Contemporary World?

Nationality is the status of belonging to a particular nation by birth or

naturalization. Today in this contemporary world, knowing your nationality is crucial as it
not only provides a sense of identity or belonging, but it grants a person full protection
from the law depending on where he/she lives. Nationality provides basic fundamental
rights to people such as to have access to education, and healthcare, to open a bank
account, or to even apply for marriage. If a person is stateless of his/her nationality, then
that person may be subjected to various human rights violations and may often have
difficulties receiving fundamental human rights and necessities.

Knowing your nationality will also grant you protection from the laws and
constitutions of your country. For example, if your nationality is Filipino then you are
granted protection of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines (an example of this is
Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of
law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.) Article 15 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that everyone has the right to a
nationality and no one should be deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to
change his nationality. A person also has the right to change their nationality as Article
13 of the UDHR states that 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and
residence within the borders of each state. 2. Everyone has the right to leave any
country, including his own, and to return to his country. Knowing your nationality also
comes with complying with the state’s laws to equally grant every citizen’s safety and
rights.

Being aware of your nationality is important as it may be affected by conflicts,

such as wars, or even your race. Millions of people in the world have been denied and
stripped of their citizenship mainly because of their race, gender, and national descent.
The separation of states and the tensions of war may even conflict with a person’s
nationality and citizenship of his/her country. In South Asia, the government of Bhutan
stripped of citizenship and expelled more than 100,000 Bhutanese of ethnic Nepali
origin in the early 1990s, the majority of whom are still refugees. Thus, it is also
important to check what’s happening around your country in order to become aware of
the issues happening around you. An example of this issue depicted is the movie The
Terminal wherein an Eastern European tourist is stranded in the New York JFK airport
because of his denial of his country Krakozhia (a fictional country) due to a military
coup.

To wrap up, knowing your nationality grants you basic human rights and the laws of your
country. Being aware of your nationality is also crucial as there may be possible
conflicts happening in the country that might affect both your nationality and citizenship.
Thus, Knowing your nationality may also give you a sense of pride and patriotism for
your country, and simply also let people from different countries know about your
country.
Sources:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/nationality-and-statelessness#:~:text=About%20nationality%2
0and%20human%20rights&text=If%20a%20person%20does%20not,%3B%20they%20
are%20'stateless'.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-t
he-philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines-article-iii/

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights#:~:text=Article%2
015,right%20to%20change%20his%20nationality.

https://archive.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/race/nationality.htm

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362227/