Article 32 of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons requires States Parties to make the naturalization process as accessible as possible to stateless persons. While SDPs provide a route to ultimately resolving statelessness through acquisition of nationality, facilitating naturalization means modifying the requirements and processes to make it simpler for stateless persons to become nationals. This can be done by implementing fast-track procedures, reducing or waiving requirements relating to residence, income and language, or exempting applicants from fees and documentation requirements. Ensuring effective access to naturalization procedures is crucial and information about these requirements should be readily available to the public. What needs to be done? The 1954 Convention establishes a regime to protect the rights of stateless persons. The 1954 Convention requires States to establish procedures to determine who is stateless within their territory, including those in detention who cannot be expelled. This determination permits stateless migrants to acquire secure legal residence, which in turn allows them to enjoy basic human rights and accumulate the number of years of residence necessary for naturalization. In addition, officials who may come in contact with stateless persons or those with undetermined nationality should be trained to identify potential applicants for statelessness status and refer them to appropriate channels. Efficient referral mechanisms should be established to support this process. Naturalization procedures and requirements need to be amended to make it easier for stateless refugees and migrants to acquire nationality, for instance by reducing the required number of years of residence or lowering or waiving application fees. Information on naturalization requirements needs to be easily accessible. States can take such measures even if they are not party to the 1954 Convention. Evidence shows that establishing statelessness determination procedures does not increase the migration of stateless persons into the territory of States with such procedures. How can UNHCR support? • • • Advocate and provide technical advice to relevant ministries and parliaments for the establishment and improvement of determination procedures and protection regimes. Provide training to increase the capacity of relevant government agencies to undertake statelessness determination. Support the establishment of screening processes to improve identification of stateless persons detained for immigration-related purposes and secure the release of such persons from detention pending a decision on their status consistent with the 2014 Monitoring • • • Immigration Detention: Practical Manual.28 Promote naturalization as a solution for stateless migrants and refugees and emphasize the need to adopt facilitated procedures that take into account their special needs. Organize study visits by concerned governments to States with well-established determination procedures, including through cooperation opportunities offered by the Global Alliance to End Statelessness. Encourage States that are not already party to the 1954 Convention to accede in accordance with the activities set out under Action 9. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS • • • • • Article 15, Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless persons – entire treaty UNHCR Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons – entire document UNHCR, Draft Articles on the Protection of Stateless Persons and the Facilities for their Naturalization, 2017 UNHCR Good Practices Paper – Action 6: Establishing Statelessness Determination Procedures to Protect Stateless Persons, 2020 – The Good Practices Paper complements the Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons; however, the Handbook remains the authoritative UNHCR guidance on the issue and should be disseminated and cited as such. RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS • • SDG 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries. SDG 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. 28 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR, Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and the International Detention Coalition (IDC), “Monitoring immigration detention: practical manual”, 2014, https://www.refworld.org/policy/opguidance/unhcr/2014/ en/99608. GLOBAL ACTION PLAN TO END STATELESSNESS 2.0 25