W H Y D O STAT E S N E E D TO E STA B L I S H A D E T E R M I N AT I O N P RO C E D U R E A N D G R A N T L E G A L STAT U S TO STAT E L E SS PERSONS? ♦ Establishing a determination procedure and granting a legal status to state‑ less persons allows States to ensure that they are meeting their obligations under the 1954 Convention and international human rights law. ♦  statelessness determination procedure contributes to efforts to assess the A size and the situation of the stateless population amongst migrant popula‑ tions on the territory. ♦ I dentifying and documenting a stateless person allows the person’s stay in the country to be regularized. ♦ I dentifying stateless persons and granting them basic rights allows them to fully participate in and contribute to the society in which they live. This in turn reduces costs and security risks related to the marginalization of stateless persons. ♦ I dentification of statelessness reduces the risk that stateless persons will be arbitrarily detained or spend prolonged periods in detention. ♦ The identification of stateless persons can reveal the causes of statelessness and new trends. ♦ An assessment of a person’s links to a nationality under a determination procedure often allows States to confirm that some are nationals of a State and to facilitate their acquisition of identity and travel documents. S t a t e l e ss n e ss D e t e r m i n a t i o n P r o c e d u r e s 3