Charter18, stressed that the protection of stateless persons offered by the Charter goes beyond social security and social and medical assistance, and also encompasses the other social rights referred to in the 1954 UN Convention, such as access to a court of law and to education. At last, he reiterated the Council of Europe readiness to support it member states to establish or, where appropriate, to improve the functioning of statelessness determination procedures, strengthen the protection of these persons and enable them to access their rights, including the right to acquire a nationality, in particular for children. 60. In the course of the plenary discussion, participants underlined the importance of sharing successful initiatives and practices, as for instance, recent development in the Islamic Republic of Iran with its new legislation enabling women to transmit their nationality. It was also stressed the relevance to bring awareness to decision-makers and civil society (at a larger scale) on the contribution of stateless people (such as Roma population) to society to tackle the rising issue of radicalisation in the political, economic, cultural and social field. SESSION 1 - RATIFICATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN CONVENTIONS ON STATELESSNESS – THE ROLE OF STATES 61. Mr. Boriss Cilevičs, Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recalled the human right to a nationality under Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which explicitly provides that “Everyone has the right to a nationality”. Additionally, paragraph 3 of Article 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights specifically stresses this right with regard to children as “Every child has the right to acquire a nationality”. Also, Articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child reiterate this and add “the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality”. He underlined the responsibility of states for implementing this right by adopting appropriate national legislation and reminded the various legal instruments adopted in this filed (see paragraphs below). Although he deplored the lack of specific mechanisms of individual complaints, he highlighted the increasing and important role of the European Court of Human Rights and several of its case law19 which reflects major practical problems for the eradication of statelessness and offers some interpretations of basic principles. 62. During the discussion, several member states shared recent legislative developments (Bulgaria, North Macedonia) to harmonize and bring closer their legislation with the European convention, and achievements to identify stateless individuals or reduce waiting periods under existing procedures (Denmark, United Kingdom). Sweden explained its work on withdrawing reservations to the 1954 Convention. 18 See Conclusions 2013, Statement of Interpretation on the rights of stateless persons Kurić and Others v. Slovenia, no. 26828/06, 13 July 2010 (Application no. 26828/06); Kaftailova v. Latvia, no. 59643/00, 22 June 2006; Shevanova v. Latvia, no. 58822/00, 15 June 2006; Sisojeva and Others v. Latvia, no. 60654/00, 16 June 2005; Genovese v. Malta, no. 53124/09, 11 October 2011; Mennesson v. France, no. 65192/11, ECHR 2014 (extracts); Labassee v. France, no. 65941/11, 26 June 2014; K2 v the United Kingdom, no. 42387/13, 9 March 2017. 19 21