Holding citizenship

Citizenship binds a person and a political community in both directions: a claim to protection, a share of obligation, a say in who governs. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration makes it a right of everyone and forbids arbitrary deprivation, which is a statement about persons rather than about entities in general. Machines are registered, licensed, type approved and certified, and since 2024 the European Union has kept a public database of high risk systems. None of that is membership. A registration is a permission to operate and it can be withdrawn without anyone being wronged. Citizenship can also be lost, and when it is, a person is left stateless, which is the whole reason international law treats it as gravely as it does. The register of things and the register of members are different books.