Clearly, the fact that refugees are not mentioned [by ECOSOC] does not mean that they must be excluded from the scope of the present study. In fact, a considerable majority of stateless persons are at present refugees. These refugees are de jure stateless persons if they have been deprived of their nationality by their country of origin. They are de facto stateless persons if without having been deprived of their nationality they no longer enjoy the protection and assistance of their national authorities 22 However, the Study added that not all persons who were considered at the time to be refugees were also considered to be stateless. Thus, certain existing categories of refugees were excluded from the scope of the Study, including most notably for present purposes: individuals … who found refuge abroad but who continue to benefit by the protection and assistance of their government, itself in exile abroad, which has been recognized by other States. Such was, for example, the case of Norwegian, Belgian and Dutch refugees during the second world war.23 In his conclusions to the Study, the Secretary-General submitted various recommendations to ECOSOC, including the following which applied equally to de jure and de facto stateless persons: Considering That the possession of a nationality and the protection of a country of which they are nationals are the foundations of the status of foreigners; That the fact of not having a nationality or not enjoying in practice the protection of a State places stateless persons, de jure or de facto, in a position of inferiority incompatible with the respect of human rights; […] That it is necessary to abolish statelessness and, until such time as this has been achieved, to improve the status of stateless persons; That the political conditions which at present are the main cause of statelessness will not disappear until more stable conditions are restored throughout the world; That in any event statelessness can be abolished only by measures which cannot produce their full effect until a certain length of time has elapsed; which measures will be recommended by the Secretary-General for adoption (see Part Two [of this Study]); That it is important, meanwhile, to take action forthwith to improve the status of stateless persons; That stateless persons should be: (a) Granted an international legal status guaranteeing them the enjoyment of fundamental human rights, and (b) Assured of the protection of an international organ of an intergovernmental character; Considering That at present only certain categories of stateless persons, and these only in certain countries, have the benefit as refugees of a legal status and of international protection provided by the International Refugee Organization, a non-permanent organization; That without prejudice to the advantages accorded to the said categories of stateless persons by the agreements concluded in their favour, which would remain in force, it is necessary to establish a legal regime for all stateless persons, the said regime to comprise legal status and international protection; In conclusion, the Secretary-General Recommends the Economic and Social Council to take the following decisions: 1. To address an invitation to all Member States not yet parties to the Convention Relating to the International Status of Refugees of 28 October 1933, the Convention concerning the Status of Refugees 22 23 Ibid., p. 9. Ibid., p. 9, footnote 13. 7