Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness

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The Problem of Statelessness

Palestinian Refugees in 1948, rendered stateless by reason of expulsion from lands overtaken by Israel in its War of Independence

Common ways people may become stateless and which are addressed by this Convention are:

Renunciation of nationality
Deprivation of nationality (eg. for disloyalty, for [treasonous acts|treason], for obtaining nationality by [fraud])
Membership of a group which is denied citizen status in the country on whose territory they are born (eg. Gypsy and Jews in Third Reich Germany (1934-1945))
Birth in disputed territories (eg. Israel occupied territory)
Birth in an area ruled by an entity whose independence is not internationally recognized (eg. Manchukuo 1932-1945)
Birth on territory over which no modern state claims sovereignty (eg. unclaimed region of Antarctica)

Statelessness creates problems for States and disadvantages for those left stateless, to whit:

diminished civil rights in comparison to the nationals of the States where they reside. This may occur despite the ideals espoused in the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
A perception that stateless persons lack loyalty to their country or residence
Lack of ability to endow one's children with a nationality
Inability to avail oneself of consular services when outside one's country of habitual residence
No 'home' country to which one is guaranteed the automatic right of return
statelessness may frustrate deportation action where no state assumes the responsibilty to accept the person made subject to a criminal deportation

Statelessness and Refugees

Statelessness most commonly affects refugees although not all refugees are stateless, and not all stateless persons may be able to qualify as refugees. Refugee status entails the extra requirements that the refugee is outside their country of nationality (or country of habitual residence if stateless), and is deserving of asylum based upon a well-founded fear of persecution for categorized reasons which make him/her unwilling or unable to avail the protection of that country.

Statelessness in the Ancient and Pre-Modern Worlds

In ancient times, statelessness could be seen to affect captive and subject populations including slaves eg. conquered populations excluded from Roman citizenship such as the Gauls immediately following the Gallic Wars, the Israelites under Babylonian captivity.

[[Image:Gypsy girls.jpg|thumb|175px|right|_{Subscript text}Gypsy girls at Astrakhan railway station. Taken by Robert Broadie on 25 January 2005 Gypsies, by virtue of their nomadic lifestyle traversing lands claimed by others, have been perennially stateless

Statelessness Prior to World War II

The Office International Nansen pour les Réfugiés, was an organization of the League of Nations, which was internationally in charge of refugees from war areas from 1930 to 1939. It received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1938. Their Nansen passports, designed in 1922 by founder Fridtjof Nansen were internationally recognized identity cards first issued by the League of Nations to stateless refugees. In 1942 they were honored by governments in 52 countries and were the first refugee travel documents.

Background to UN Action Addressing the Problem of Statelessness

Migrations forced from political instability during World War II and its immediate aftermath highlighted the international dimensions of problems presented by unprecedented volumes of displaced persons including those rendered effectively stateless.

Dating from December 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Article 15 affirms that:

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

At the Fourth General Assembly Session in October-December 1949, the International Law Commission included the topic "Nationality, including statelessness" in its list of topics of international law provisionally selected for codification. At the behest of ECOSOC in its 11th Session soon after, that item was given priority.

The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees was done on 28 July 1951.

The Internatioal Law Commission at its fifth session in 1953 produced both a Draft Convention on the Elimination of Future Statelessness, and a Draft Convention on the Reduction of Future Statelessness. ECOSOC approved both drafts.

A Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons was done in September1954^[1].

On 4 December 1954 the General Assembly by Resolution 896(IX)^[2] adopted both drafts as the basis of its desire for a conference of plenipotentaries and an eventual Convention.

General Principles of the Convention

The Convention works to create norms and to codify and confirm certain presumptions and principles of customary international law existing at the time of its formation. Among these would be:

States have absolute sovereignty to confer their nationality on any person for any reason
otherwise stateless persons may take the nationality of the place of their birth or of the place where they were found (in the case of a foundling), otherwise they may take the nationality of one of their parents or that of another Contracting State
a stateless person has some time beyond attaining adulthood to seek to claim the benefit of the Convention. That time is always at least three years from the age of eighteen.
the benefit of the Convention may be claimed by guardians on behalf of children
States may impose a period of residence qualification for granting nationality to persons who may be otherwise stateless. That period is a maximum five years immediately prior to application and maximum of ten years overall.
disloyal or certain criminal conduct my limit an individual's ability to avail the benefit of the Convention
birth on a sea vessel or aircraft may attact the nationality of the flag of that vessel or craft

Substantive Provisions of the Convention (summarised)

The Convention was done at New York on 30 August 1961. It entered into force on 13 December 1975.

There are 21 Articles, summarised below:

Article 1(1)
Contracting States shall grant their nationality to persons, otherwise stateless, born in the their territory (subject to Article 1(ii). The grant may be by virtue of the birth, or upon application by or on behalf of the person so born.

Article 1(2)
A applicant may have up until at least the age of 21 to claim their citizenship by birth. For grant of citizenship by birth, a Contracting State may require proof of habitual residence in their territory for a period not exceeding 5 years immediately prior to application, or 10 years in total. Grant of citizenship by birth may be contingent upon the applicant's not having been convicted of an offence against national security nor having been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five years or more. Grant of citizenship by birth may be contingent upon the applicant having always been stateless.

Article 1(3)
A child born in wedlock in a Contracting State shall take the nationality of its mother.

Article 1(4)
A Contracting State shall give its nationality to a person, otherwise statelss, who is legally precluded from assuming his/her birth nationality, where that State's nationality was held by either parent at the time of the birth.

Article 1(5)
An applicant has until at least the age of 23 to claim a nationality by Article 1(4). For conferral of nationality by Article 1(4)a contracting State may impose a residence requirement not exceeding three years immediately prior to application. For conferral of nationality by Article 1(4)it may be required that the applicant has always been stateless.

Article 2
For the purpose of assigning nationality, a foundling shall be considered to have been born in the State where it was found by and from parents of that State's nationality. That presumption may be displaced by proof to the contrary.

Article 3
For the purpose of assigning nationality, birth on a ship or aircraft shall amount to birth in the territory of the State that gives its flag to that ship or aircraft.

Article 4
A Contracting State shall grant its nationality to a person, not born in its territory, if either parent had that State's nationality and the person is otherwise stateless. Under this article, a person my claim nationality at least up to the age of 23. They may also be required to have a period of residence up to three years immediately prior to application. The nationality may be refused where a person has been convicted of an offence against the national security of the Contracting State.

Article 5
If a law entails loss of nationality, such loss shall be conditional upon the person acquiring another nationality. This only applies to loss by marriage, legitimation, divorce, recognition or adoption. A child that loses nationality by recognition or affiliation shall be given opportunity to reacquire by written application under terms not more rigorous than provided by Article 1(2).

Article 6
If a law entails loss of nationality by a spouse or child by virtue of the loss of nationality by the other spouse or a parent, such loss shall be conditional on the person's possession or acquisition of another nationality.

Article 7
Laws for the renunciation of a nationality shall be conditional upon a person's acquisition or possession of another nationality. (Exceptions: not to frustrate freedom of movement of nationals within a country, not to frustrate return of nationals to their country, not to frustrate a person's ability to seek asylum)

Article 8
Contracting States shall not deprive people of their nationality so as to render such people stateless.(Exceptions: where otherwise provided in the Convention, where nationality has been acquired by misrepresentation or fraud, disloyalty to the Contracting State).

Article 9
No deprivation of nationality on racial, ethnic, political or religious grounds.

Article 10
Treaties providing for transfer or territory shall make provisions to preclude the occurrence of statelessness. Absent such provisions, a Constracting State taking territory will give its nationality to persons, otherwise stateless, in that territory.

Article 11
Persons may apply to the UNHCR to claim the benefit of the Convention.

Article 12
Convention applies to persons born either before or after it goes into force. (Exception: only applies to foundlings found AFTER going into force}

Article 13
Convention is not to be construed to detract from any law or treaty provision otherwise reducing the occurrence of statelessness.

Article 14
Disputes by Contacting States concerning the Convention shall be susceptible to final determined by the International Court of Justice.

Article 15
Convention applies to all trust, non-selfgoverning, colonial, and non-metropolitain territories of Contracting States.

Articles 16-21
Process of signature and ratification.

Contracting States

As at 13 February 2007 there were 36 Contracting States who had acceded, ratified, or succeed to the Convention ^[3]: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chad, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Israel, Kiribati, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, Swaziland, Sweden, Tunisia, UK, Uruguay

Outside Links

Full Convention text : Map showing State Parties