38 Bianchini Germany ratified and which are relevant for the protection of stateless persons include: the European Convention on Human Rights,9 the European Convention on Nationality,10 the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,11 the Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights,12 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.13 Despite its international commitments, Germany has no specific statelessness determination procedures and does not recognize statelessness as a protection ground in itself.14 However, stateless persons may fall under the scope of other protection categories and residence permits. The matter of statelessness usually becomes relevant when an asylum claim is rejected and the question of permission to remain on other grounds arises. It also becomes relevant when a person applies for a travel document pursuant to Article 28 of the 1954 Convention,15 or for naturalization.16 Thus, the local Aliens Offices in each of the 16 German States, which are the competent authorities dealing with these matters, may be required to examine whether a person is stateless. Not much is known on the local Aliens Offices’ practices in this regard; there are no published guidelines on how the authorities establish whether a person is stateless. According to experts, the tendency of these proceedings is to avoid making findings on statelessness whenever possible. An appeal is therefore the only available solution left for a person that seeks recognition as a stateless 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 BGBl 1952 II, 685 and BGBl 2002, II, 1054. BGBl II 2004, 578. BGBl II 1973, 1533-1534. UNHCR, ‘Status of ratification: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ <http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr-ratify.htm> accessed 18 May 2012. BGBl II 1992, 121. Statelessness is a relevant legal fact under international law. Statelessness means that a person does not enjoy diplomatic protection and has no right to enter and reside in any State. In addition, statelessness has practical negative consequences on a number of other rights. Paul Weis, Nationality and Statelessness in International Law (2nd edn, Kluwer Academic Publisher Group, Dordrecht 1979) 6, 43, 46. UNHCR’ s position is that statelessness determination procedures can assist States in providing protection to stateless persons in line with their obligations under the 1954 Convention. In fact, it is implicit in the 1954 Convention that States must identify stateless persons within their jurisdictions to provide them with adequate treatment. In countries, such as Germany, where statelessness mainly arises in the migration context, statelessness determination procedures also help the government to assess the size of the stateless population. UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 2, Procedures for Determining whether an Individual is a Stateless Person (2002). Holger Hoffmann, ‘Welche Rechte haben Staatenlose?’ (2004) 10 Asylmagazin 5. Interview with German Immigration Lawyer number 1 (22 July 2013). tilburg law review 19 (2014) 35-51