The role of international conventions in promoting the principle of citizenship

Abstract

Citizenship in its simple meaning means belonging to a specific homeland
and loyalty to it. This expression has its legal and political connotations,
meaning that the area of citizenship extends to include all the people of the
same country with their rights and duties towards it, regardless of their
religious, sectarian or ethnic affiliations. In addition to duties, citizenship has
rights that can be classified into life, spiritual and mental membership rights,
such as the right to a secure and dignified life, the right to worship and religion,
the right to housing, property and travel, the right to belong to political and
trade union parties and associations, and the right to vote and run for public
office, as well as the right to copyright and expression of opinion. All these
rights related to citizenship have been referred to by many international
conventions and covenants and stressed the need to exercise them within the
framework of democracy, participation and human rights, and to find clear
mechanisms to ensure their implementation and protection.