THE RISK OF STATELESSNESS 62 YALE HUMAN RIGHTS & DEVELOPMENT L.J. 2017 [Vol. 19 weapon against more vulnerable minorities.86 Statelessness was often the result, and this was a major factor that led to a reinvigorated global conversation about the protection against statelessness.87 Notably, this concern was compounded by statelessness issues that were emerging in the context of forced migration flows and new multi-party democracies, where citizenship laws were being used to quash opposition.88 Concerns about statelessness gained steam at the turn of the century, a trend attributable in large part to the work of the UNHCR, the international body charged with protecting stateless persons under the 1954 and 1961 Convention frameworks.89 National and international advocacy organizations have worked tirelessly to shed light on situations of statelessness around the globe, and in 2014, the UNHCR launched a global initiative to eradicate statelessness by 2024, known as the “#IBelong Campaign.”90 Growing concern about this problem has led to a steady increase in the rate of ratification of the statelessness conventions. Specifically, twenty-three states have ratified the 1954 Convention since 2010, which represents 25% of the total number of states parties and has brought the total number of ratifications to ninety.91 The increased awareness about statelessness that prompted the U.N. campaign, and that continues to motivate work in this area has increased the visibility of the problem of statelessness. Increased ratification of the statelessness instruments is likely a byproduct of this increased visibility. Nevertheless, challenges to state practices related to nationality acquisition and deprivation tend to be flash points for international controversy, and states often respond to allegations that their policies produce statelessness by citing their sovereign authority over matters pertaining to nationality. One of the most visible examples of this trend is the nationality crisis that has unfolded in the Dominican Republic over the last decade. II. THE EMERGENCE OF THE “RISK OF STATELESSNESS” DOCTRINE IN HISPANIOLA One of the most pressing situations of statelessness in the world today is that which has unfolded in the Dominican Republic, where the UNHCR has reported a population of more than 130,000 stateless persons.92 This nationality rights crisis in that country has emerged against the backdrop of historic marginalization and mistreatment of Haitian migrants and their 86. See VAN WAAS, supra note 80, at 18. 87. Id. 88. Id. at 18-19. 89. See G.A. Res. 50/152, supra note 14, ¶¶ 14-15 (entrusting the UNHCR with responsibility for stateless persons); G.A. Res. 61/137, supra note 14, ¶¶ 1-4 (same). 90. See UNHCR, #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness, http://www.unhcr.org/ibelong-campaign-to-end-statelessness.html [https://perma.cc/BX9485Q6]. 91. See Status of the 1954 Convention, supra note 81. 92. See UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2015, supra note 22, at 14. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3111529