National origin is the nation where a person was born, or where that person's ancestors came from. It also includes the diaspora of multi-ethnic states and societies that have a shared sense of common identity identical to that of a nation while being made up of several component ethnic groups.
Do not confuse national identity with ethnicity or religion. In many situations, they are distinct from each other. National identity may refer simply to the people inhabiting a particular country. In this case, geographical territory encompasses people of different ethnicities and religions. For example, “Arab” refers to someone who speaks Arabic and is not understood as a nationality or an ethnicity.
Do not hyphenate national origins even if they are used as adjectives. The use of the hyphen is rooted in the history of the “hyphenated American’—an epithet used during the late 19th century to the early 20th century to ridicule Americans of foreign birth or origin. Additionally, identifiers such as African American, Native American, Asian American, are never hyphenated - even if they are used as adjectives (e.g., Irish American, Polish American, Japanese)
Do not use umbrella terms to describe a person’s national origin; instead, be specific (e.g., “He is Cambodian” instead of “He is Asian”).
Remember that actions, not people, are illegal.
In an increasingly diverse world, do not assume people’s backgrounds based on appearance or perceived ethnicity, race, or religion. Always ask yourself if the identity in question needs to be part of the story and defer to the community member on how they want to present themselves.
Many people may hold multiple national identities. Defer to the way they describe themselves.
Geopolitical conflict is common, and more than one state may have claims over certain territories. Some countries are facing separatist movements while others are still struggling with decades-old occupations. When talking to people from regions facing geopolitical conflict, be sensitive to these issues and afford them the appropriate respect and representation.
For some, citizenship status could also be a sensitive issue. Be cautious when referring to someone’s citizenship in the story and require their consent first. Examples of this issue include the situation of “stateless people” in Kuwait and “undocumented immigrants” in the United States.