PART III: CONCLUSIONS 10. THE DEFINITION OF DE FACTO STATELESSNESS Based on the analysis in Parts I and II above, it is submitted that de facto stateless persons should be defined as follows: De facto stateless persons are persons outside the country of their nationality who are unable or, for valid reasons, are unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country. Persons who have more than one nationality are de facto stateless only if they are outside all the countries of their nationality and are unable, or for valid reasons, are unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of any of those countries. 11. INTERPRETATION OF THE DEFINITION OF DE FACTO STATELESSNESS It is submitted that the above definition of de facto statelessness should be interpreted as follows. 11.1 Outside the country of nationality Persons who are de facto stateless cannot be inside the country of their nationality. By definition, they must be outside that country. Sometimes it may be possible to establish that a person has a nationality, but not exactly which nationality he or she has, in which case it will not necessarily be possible to establish whether the person is inside or outside the country of his or her nationality. For example, the legislation of Country A may provide that a person born on Country A’s territory acquires Country A’s nationality at birth if the person concerned would otherwise be de jure stateless. If it cannot be established whether or not the person had, or was entitled to acquire, the nationality of another country at birth, it will not be possible to establish whether or not that person acquired the nationality of Country A at birth. In such circumstances, while it can be concluded that the person must have a nationality – that is, either the nationality of Country A or of another country – it cannot be concluded exactly which nationality the person has. Under such circumstances, a person must be outside all of his or her putative countries of nationality before it can be established whether or not he or she is de facto stateless. If it cannot be established whether or not a person has a nationality, then it cannot be established whether or not he or she is de facto stateless.190 11.2 Protection of the country of nationality Persons who are de facto stateless must be unable or, for valid reasons, unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of their country of nationality. Such protection includes not 190 But see point (a)(iii) in section 7.3 above 61