Nationality is a legal bond between a person and a State. Nationality provides people with a sense of identity and, more importantly, enables them to exercise a wide range of rights. 

Statelessness refers to the situation when an individual is not considered as a national by any state. Statelessness affects an estimated twelve million people worldwide today.

Back in 1954, the international community adopted the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons to address the problem of statelessness. The 1954 Statelessness Convention recognises the international legal status of “stateless persons” and ensures that they enjoy human rights without discrimination, offering them access to travel documents, identity papers and minimum standards of treatment. The Convention also requires states parties to facilitate the integration and naturalization of stateless persons.

The problem of becoming stateless could be prevented through adequate nationality legislation and universal birth registration. In order to avoid the occurrence of statelessness and reduce the number of stateless cases, in 1961 the international community adopted another important document, the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The 1961 Convention provides for acquisition of nationality for those who would otherwise be stateless and who have an appropriate link with a state through birth or descent.

The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness are key legal instruments in the protection of stateless people around the world and in the prevention and reduction of statelessness. While they are complemented by regional treaty standards and international human rights law, the two statelessness conventions are the only global conventions of their kind.

To date, the conventions have attracted relatively few ratifications or accessions and, as a result, the international framework for the protection of stateless people and the prevention and reduction of statelessness is undermined. Therefore, the United Nations General Assembly gave a mandate to UNHCR in 1995 to work with governments to prevent statelessness, to resolve those cases that do occur and to protect the rights of stateless persons. The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has also been tasked explicitly to promote the accession to these two Statelessness Conventions worldwide. 

1954 Convention

• 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
• Signatory States, Declarations and Reservations
• Objectives and key provisions of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

1961 Convention

• 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
• Signatory States, Declarations and Reservations
• Objectives and key provisions of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness

Map

• Map of States Parties to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness