Holes in the Rights Framework: Racial Discrimination, Citizenship, and the Rights of Noncitizens

In an article published in the Fall 2006 issue of the Carnegie Council’s Ethics & International Affairs, Open Society Justice Initiative Executive Director James A. Goldston looks at "the importance of citizenship in making effective the promise of fundamental human rights protection.” Noting that approximately 175 million people worldwide are not citizens of the countries in which they live, Goldston examines arbitrary denial of citizenship and discrimination against noncitizens, and the role that international human rights law can play in improving their situation.