Does a stateless person have rights?

Without citizenship, stateless people have no legal protection and no right to vote, and they often lack access to education, employment, health care, registration of birth, marriage or death, and property rights.

How can we stop statelessness?

The ten actions to end statelessness are: 1) resolve the existing major situations of statelessness; 2) ensure that no child is born stateless; 3) remove gender discrimination from nationality laws; 4) prevent denial, loss or deprivation of nationality on discriminatory grounds; 5) prevent statelessness in cases of …

Are stateless persons refugees?

In international law, a stateless person is someone who is “not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law”. Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are stateless have never crossed an international border.

What is the mandate of the UNHCR?

UNHCR is primarily mandated to provide international protection and humanitarian assistance,1 and to seek permanent solutions for persons within its core mandate responsibilities.

Can you leave someone stateless?

The 1961 Convention It requires that states establish safeguards in their nationality laws to prevent statelessness at birth and later in life. The convention also sets out the very limited situations in which states can deprive a person of his or her nationality, even if this would leave them stateless.

Is citizenship a human right?

The right to a nationality is a fundamental human right. It implies the right of each individual to acquire, change and retain a nationality. In addition to violations of their right to a nationality, stateless persons are often subject to many other human rights violations.

Why is statelessness a problem?

The State of Being Stateless Typically, because they lack access to identification papers to prove their citizenship, they are ineligible to vote and participate in political processes, unable to obtain travel documents and unable to access a range of government services and employment.

Can I be a citizen of no country?

The international legal definition of a stateless person is “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”. In simple terms, this means that a stateless person does not have a nationality of any country. Some people are born stateless, but others become stateless.

Are Rohingya stateless?

Stateless Citizens Most Rohingya are, as Article 1 of the 1954 Convention on Statelessness defines the concept, “not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law.” As with refugees, international legal frameworks entitle stateless individuals to protections and legal status in third states.

How does a stateless person get citizenship?

Canadian Law Section 5 (5) – second generation born abroad children born on or after April 17, 2009, who would otherwise be stateless, can apply for Canadian citizenship if they are under the age of 23 and have resided in Canada for three of the four years preceding their application.

Is the UNHCR legal?

Refugees have rights and protections under international law. These rights and protections are found in the Refugee Convention and in major international human rights treaties. The main UN organisation that protects refugees is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

What is the main function of UNHCR?

UNHCR works to protect and assist refugees everywhere. We strive to ensure that everyone has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to eventually return home, integrate or resettle.

How can UNHCR help people who are stateless?

Reducing statelessness means finding a solution for those without a nationality. There is one solution for statelessness – acquisition of nationality, usually of the country with which stateless people have the strongest ties.

Who is responsible for the end of statelessness?

Governments establish who their nationals are. This makes them responsible for legal and policy reforms that are necessary to effectively address statelessness. But UNHCR, other agencies, regional organizations, civil society and stateless people all have roles to play in supporting their efforts.

What are the rights of people who are stateless?

Today, millions of people around the world are denied a nationality. As a result, they often aren’t allowed to go to school, see a doctor, get a job, open a bank account, buy a house or even get married. Stateless people may have difficulty accessing basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.

How many conventions on Statelessness are there in the world?

There have also been 49 accessions to the two conventions on statelessness – an increase that will lead to more action to protect stateless people, resolve their predicament and prevent new cases from occurring.