"When the Constitution refers to "nationals", it refers to people born in Uruguayan territory or children of Uruguayan parents." "Legal citizenship is for foreigners who come to live in the country." -- María A. Sande, Director of the Directorate of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director Sande provided this testimony before a United Nations Commission on November 28, 2023. I have a critical question.

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 "When the Constitution refers to "nationals", it refers to people born in Uruguayan territory or children of Uruguayan parents."

"Legal citizenship is for foreigners who come to live in the country." -- María A. Sande, Director of the Directorate of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director Sande provided this testimony before a United Nations Commission on November 28, 2023. I have a critical question. Where does the Constitution mention "nationals"? Can you point me to the clause? Can you find the word for us? Can you explain the definition you attribute to the Constitution itself? The Constitution does not mention nationals. It only refers to citizens. But there is more: To clarify, I want to explain the difference between nationality and citizenship as established in the Constitution. When the Constitution refers to "nationals", it refers to people born in Uruguayan territory or children of Uruguayan parents. On the other hand, when he talks about "citizenship", he mentions two types: the natural one, which corresponds to those born in Uruguay, and the legal one, which is for foreigners who come to live in the country. There is no dichotomy in this regard. Regarding legal uncertainty, the Constitution clearly establishes who legal citizens are and what their rights are. Legal citizens have all rights, with the only exception of not being able to be president of the Republic. Therefore, there is no legal uncertainty, since once someone obtains the citizenship letter, they know what they can do and what their rights are, which, I reiterate, are broad. The message from the Uruguayan State is clear: Legal citizens, listen carefully. Your legal uncertainty is unfounded. You are simply foreigners coming to live in our country, but apart from this fact, you should be grateful that there is no dichotomy between legal and natural citizenship (except in the case of nationality). From the moment they obtain their citizenship card, they know that they must wait another three years to vote, and even longer to hold public office, and that they will never be nationals. They will always have a defective passport showing that they are nationals of the place where they were born. If you, being nationals, do not worry about not being able to request to be recognized as stateless under Uruguayan domestic law if you make the mistake of becoming legal non-national Uruguayan citizens first (because in some way, that non-national status excludes you from being stateless). Is anyone else listening? It took me five hours to hear testimony, but everything that is wrong with Uruguay's nationality policy and its denial that there is anything wrong with its policy was exposed before the United Nations. I think legal Uruguayan citizens are tired of being told they have separate but equal rights. They are separated because they are not and will never be national. But they are "equal" because, except for that small concept of nationality, they are granted all other rights. This can't continue.