4, ADDRESSING STATELESSNESS THROUGH THE RIGHTS TO EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION At the institutional level, discriminating between citizens and non- citizens in the conferral of civic rights and social benefits is standard. The criteria upon which citizenship is granted or withheld and the extent of the benefits of citizenship are widely understood as matters of State sovereignty. And yet this discretion is limited by international law in ways that not all States adhere to. As noted above, stateless persons face grave disadvantages. They “face challenges in all areas of life, including: entering or completing schooling; accessing healthcare services [...] obtaininga birth certificate |...) falling back on social security [...] obtaining a passport or indeed being issued any form of identity documentation [...] international travel [...and] free movement”. They are also vulnerable to arbitrary and lengthy immigration detention. In the most extreme cases, stateless persons suffer persecution and endure forced displacement. While there is general consensus that stateless people face barriers in accessing the services central to the enjoyment of their rights, the connection to discrimination and inequality is not always noted. The obligation of the State to ensure equal access to rights for all (although subject to discretion in certain areas as highlighted below) goes beyond the mere legal statement that (for example) all children have the right to an education. The State must ensure that legal, administrative and practical barriers to accessing education are removed and that all children have access to education that meets a certain minimum standard. It must ensure that those whose particular circumstances and vulnerabilities make them less likely to be able to enjoy equal access to education are identified and steps taken to mitigate the barriers they face. One such barrier that stateless people face in accessing education and various other rights andservices, is thatthey often lackthe documentation required for administrative purposes. A simple attitudinal shift that sees those without documentation (including the stateless) notas (variously) at fault, unworthy, a threat, outsiders or disqualified, but rather as people whose equal access to rights and services is being hampered by the nonfulfilment of an administrative step (that for most people can easily be taken) will go a long way to strengthening the equal access to rights and services of stateless persons. 25 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, supra n7, pp. 29-30. 106