MAPPING OF THE POPULATION AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS IN ALBANIA ness but also shows evidence of the greatest number of unrecorded cases. While it should be remembered that the Asia Pacific region is, globally, the most populous in absolute terms, there is, nonetheless, cause for concern at the levels of statelessness it contains. At the other end of the scale, the Americas have the lowest levels of statelessness, with the overwhelming majority of cases being in just one country (the Dominican Republic). It is almost certainly no coincidence that across the Americas, the legal norm for citizenship is a jus soli approach to nationality: children born in a territory are given citizenship in that territory. 2.2. Definitions Article 1 (1) of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines a stateless person as: “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”. The authors believed this definition would cover the large majority of stateless individuals who would not otherwise be recognized as refugees and receive international protection through the 1951 Refugee Convention. The International Law Commission has concluded that the definition of a stateless person contained in the 1954 Convention can “no doubt be considered as having acquired a customary nature” and is therefore binding on all nations because every nation is bound to observe and respect an international principle or obligation that has achieved the status of customary international law even if a State has not ratified a particular treaty concerning that issue. There is not universal agreement that the Article 1 stateless definition is customary law. Nevertheless, the fact that at least some international law authorities have agreed that this stateless definition has attained this level of recognition shows that it is now significant. Under the 1954 Convention definition, both nationality laws and the practices in applying or implementing these laws need to be looked at to determine whether an individual is “not considered as a national”. To be “a national” under this definition requires the existence of a formal bond but does not require an effective or genuine link between the State and the individual. Individuals who have a formal bond of nationality but are not granted the rights and protections generally accorded other nationals of that country, would not typically be viewed as stateless. Such individuals would, nevertheless, be vulnerable to the same or similar hardships as stateless individuals and should be treated in a similar manner as individuals who are stateless. At the same time, the 1954 Convention definition of a stateless person is intended to be interpreted inclusively to include the broadest scope of stateless individuals in order to ensure that those individuals lacking nationality receive the necessary protection. Most people are used to a variety of social, political and economic rights that are considered inalienable to human beings. However, these rights are in fact only guaranteed to citizens of countries. 20 UNHCR - TLAS / May 2018