CHAPTER I CHAPTER II UNHCR’s mandate or in national legislation. Under international law and UNHCR’s mandate, refugees are people outside their countries of origin who are in need of international protection because of feared persecution or a serious threat to their life, physical integrity or freedom in their country of origin as a result of persecution, armed conflict, violence or serious public disorder. CHAPTER III Note: Under international law, a person is considered a refugee as soon as they meet the relevant criteria, whether or not they have been formally recognized as a refugee. A person does not become a refugee because of recognition, but rather is recognized because they are a refugee. CHAPTER IV Stateless person: A person who is “not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”.10 Determining whether a person is stateless “is a mixed question of fact and law” (including legislation, ministerial decrees, court decisions and other sources of law) which “requires a careful analysis of how a State applies its nationality laws in an individual’s case in practice and any review/ appeal decisions that may have had an impact on the individual’s status”.11 CHAPTER V Statelessness: The condition of not being considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. CHAPTER VI Note: statelessness can occur for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to: discrimination against particular ethnic or religious groups or on the basis of gender; the dissolution of States and the emergence of new ones (State succession); transfers of territory between existing States; gaps in nationality laws; or lack of birth registration. Regardless of its cause, statelessness results in a lack of those rights attributable to nationality. CHAPTER VII RECOMMENDATIONS Undetermined nationality (person of undetermined nationality): A person who has links to more than one State that may form the basis of a claim to nationality, but for whom it is unclear to which State(s) — if any — they belong. For UNHCR, a person may be assessed as being of undetermined nationality following a review verifying the following: 1. they lack proof of possession of a nationality; and either 10 11 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, UNHCR, p. 3. Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, UNHCR, Geneva 2014, Part One, Section C, para. 23. ANNEXES 7