Statelessness

Refworld contains a wealth of documents related to statelessness, including legal, policy and background information. This "Special Feature" on statelessness is regularly maintained and contains legal, policy and operational material.

• Legal Documents Related to Statelessness
• Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954
• Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 30 August 1961
• Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession, Council of Europe, 15 March 2006
• Convention No. 13 to Reduce the Number of Cases of Statelessness, International Commission on Civil Status, 13 September 1973
• Resolution on "Legal Identity and Statelessness", Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO), 8 April 2006
• Recommendation on the Avoidance and Reduction of Statelessness, Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, No. R (1999)18, 15 September 1999

• UNHCR Policy Documents Related to Statelessness
• Climate Change and Statelessness: A Overview, 20 May 2009
• Final Report Concerning the Questionnaire on Statelessness Pursuant to the Agenda for Protection. Steps taken by States to Reduce Statelessness and to Meet the Protection Needs of Stateless Persons, March 2004
• The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons: Implementation within the European Union Member States and Recommendations for Harmonisation, October 2003
• UNHCR Brief on Statelessness and Detention Issues, 27 November 1997

• UNHCR ExCom and Standing Committee
• Issues relating to statelessness have been discussed within UNHCR's Executive Committee for many years. The ExCom has adopted two Conclusions on it, and UNHCR regularly reports to the body on its activities.
• All Progress reports on UNHCR's statelessness activities
• Executive Committee Conclusion No. 106 (LVI), 2006, Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons, 6 October 2006 (in French)
• Executive Committee Conclusion No. 78 (XLVI), 1995, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons, 20 October 1995 (in French)
• Note on UNHCR and Statelessness Activities, 30 May 1997

• Other Documents Related to Statelessness
• All reports relating to statelessness by all sources
• All national legislation relating to statelessness, citizenship and nationality

• Country-Specific Situations
• Statelessness in Sri Lanka
• Statelessness in Bangladesh: The Biharis (Photo Gallery)
• Statelessness in Canadian Context. A Discussion Paper, UNHCR Canada/Andrew Brouwer, July 2003

• Tools
• The World's Stateless People - Q & A
• Nationality & Statelessness. A Handbook for Parliamentarians, UNHCR/Inter-Parliamentary Union, 20 October 2005 (updated August 2008) (in French)
• Information and Accession Package: The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 1 January 1999 (in French)
• Self-Study Module 1: An Introduction to International Protection. Protecting Persons of Concern to UNHCR, 1 August 2005 (in French)
• Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Its History and Interpretation, commentary by Nehemiah Robinson (Institute of Jewish Affairs, World Jewish Congress), 1955 (re-printed by the Division of International Protection, 1997)

• Related UNHCR Links
• Stateless people
• UN Conventions on Statelessness (including Lists of States Parties, Reservations and Declarations, and Maps of States Parties
• Refugees Magazine Issue 147: The Excluded, September 2007
• UNHCR news on statelessness

• Related Internet Links
• Council of Europe: Asylum, Refugees and Displaced Persons
• Council of Europe: Nationality
• Human Rights Tools: Statelessness
• International Law Commission (ILC): Analytical Guide, Nationality in relation to the Succession of States
• International Law Commission (ILC): Analytical Guide, Nationality including Statelessness
• International Observatory on Statelessness
• LegislationOnline.org: Citizenship