d) Countries may be unable or unwilling to cooperate in identifying persons who are their nationals.154 For example, Country A may not respond to a request from Country B to confirm whether Mr. Y is its national, e.g. because it lacks the institutional capacity to carry out the necessary investigations, or simply because it is unwilling to cooperate.155 Mr. Y may even be detained by Country B and himself have received no response from Country A to a request for consular assistance. 154 See ExCom Conclusion No. 96 of 2003 on “The Return of Persons Found Not to be in Need of International Protection” which: “(a) Reaffirms the right of everyone to leave any country, including his or her own, and to return to his or her own country as well as the obligation of States to receive back their own nationals, including the facilitation thereof, and remains seriously concerned, as regards the return of persons found not to be in need of international protection, that some countries continue to restrict the return of their own nationals, either outright or through laws and practices which effectively block expeditious return; […] e) Calls on States to cooperate regarding the efficient and expeditious return of persons found not to be in need of international protection, to their countries of origin, other countries of nationality or countries with an obligation to receive them back, notably by; • cooperating actively, including through their diplomatic and consular offices, in establishing the identity of persons presumed to have a right to return, as well as determining their nationality, where there is no evidence of nationality in the form of genuine travel or other relevant identity documents for the person concerned; • finding practical solutions for the issuance of appropriate documentation to persons who are not or no longer in possession of a genuine travel document; […] (g) Recalls further that Annex 9 to the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation requires that States, when requested to provide travel documents to facilitate the return of one of its nationals, respond within a reasonable period of time, and not more than 30 days after such a request is made, either by issuing a travel document or by satisfying the requesting State that the person concerned is not one of its nationals” See also ExCom Conclusion No. 106 of 2006 on “Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons” which: “(l) Encourages States to seek appropriate solutions for persons who have no genuine travel or other identity documents, including migrants and those who have been smuggled or trafficked, and where necessary and as appropriate, for the relevant States to cooperate with each other in verifying their nationality status, while fully respecting the international human rights of these individuals as well as relevant national laws; (m) Calls upon States Parties to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, both supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, to respect their obligation to assist in verifying the nationality of the persons referred to them who have been smuggled or trafficked with a view to issuing travel and identity documents and facilitating the return of such persons; and, encourages other States to provide similar assistance” 155 See also paragraph “s” of ExCom Conclusion No. 90 of 1996 and the references in footnote 149 above. On how States may seek to avoid their responsibilities to readmit their nationals, see Gregor Noll, “Return of Persons to States of Origin and Third States” in T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Vincent Chetail, eds., “Migration and International Legal Norms”, T.M.C. Asser Press, 2003, pp. 61 – 74. 44