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.