III. SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS Regional Expert Meeting on the Human Rights of Stateless Persons in the Middle East and North Africa Amman, 18-19 February 2010 1. Opening session International standards and terminology The meeting was opened by OHCHR and UNHCR experts, presenting participants with an overview of international legal standards and principles relating to the human rights of stateless persons. A stateless person was defined as someone who is not considered a national by any state under the operation of its law, while a finding of statelessness relies on an assessment of both the content of national law and its practical application by the state. It was argued that their right to a nationality is a fundamental right and should be upheld in strict observance of the principle of non-discrimination. The responsibility of states was to be understood as their legal obligation to guarantee human rights to all persons on their territory or subject to its jurisdiction without discrimination. Finishing up the introductory presentations, participants were reminded that the task at hand was primarily related to identification of gaps in national legislations and administrative practices in different countries. Secondly, the challenge would be to classify possible options to tackle those gaps and how to ensure that all countries in the region live up to their existing international legal obligations. The subsequent discussion following the presentations focused primarily on two areas of concern. First, discussions deliberated upon whether there is a clear and uniform understanding of the relevant terminology. Participants pointed out that the notions of “nationality” and “citizenship” can describe different modes of belonging in the Arab region, as well as in other areas of the world. However, it was recognised that the terms were used interchangeably in the international legal context and could be considered to describe the legal bond between a person and a state, unless otherwise specified. Secondly, participants posed the question whether the existing international legal framework is comprehensive in terms of standards relating to the avoidance of statelessness and the protection of stateless persons. One idea raised was to advocate for a new instrument to update the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and specifically address new challenges which have been identified since their adoption. Others expressed their conviction that, taken as a whole and provided that international standards are properly applied, the international legal framework as it currently stands is sufficient to cover all relevant concerns. In particular, mention was made of the role of regional instruments and core principles such as non-discrimination in addressing areas in which single 11