“a form of punishment more primitive than torture” S P E C I A L R E P O RT / I N T R O D U C T I O N A 1 0 -Y E A R C A M PA I G N T O E N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S STATES PARTY TO THE STATELESSNESS CONVENTIONS Parties to the 1954 and the 1961 Conventions Parties to the 1954 Convention only Parties to the 1961 Convention only States that have not yet acceded to the 1954 or the 1961 Conventions In the past four years, more countries have acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness than in the four decades following its adoption. © UNHCR / S . NANDL ALL / AUGUST 2014 A S O F 3 0 S E P T E M B E R 20 1 4 The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. “My dream is to have a document so that I can vote. I want the government to see me and to listen.” – FORMERLY STATELESS IN SOUTH AFRICA 4 Rohingya in Myanmar have been refused nationality under the 1982 citizenship law and their freedom of movement, religion and education severely curtailed. Over a third of the world’s stateless are children and the stigma of statelessness could follow them for the rest of their lives, even past their deaths; if they have children of their own, this generation will also be stateless and the crisis perpetuated. This centuries-old problem first began to stir the consciousness of the international community when words such as ‘inhumane,’ ‘embarrassing’ and ‘a blemish in international law’ were applied to the plight of stateless people. UNHCR was mandated to assist stateless refugees in 1950. While a significant number of refugees and asylum-seekers are also stateless, their numbers are usually reflected in figures relating to refugees and asylum-seekers. During the past five years, 20% of all refugees resettled by UNHCR have also been stateless. UNHCR was mandated in the 1970s to assist stateless people under the 1961 Con- STAT E L E S S N E S S vention on the Reduction of Statelessness and its role was consolidated in 1995. The legal cornerstones of UNHCR’s work are the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. These treaties are supported by other legal instruments such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many international and regional human rights treaties which uphold the right of every human being to a nationality. But for decades solving statelessness appeared to be insurmountable. Many governments and the international community as a whole appeared uninterested, STAT E L E S S N E S S Leal’s status in Lebanon is known as maktoum al qaed or “not appearing in records.” She says being stateless has “shattered her dreams.” Leal suffers from a fatal kidney disease and worries about the future of her two young boys, who are also stateless, wondering what might happen to them if she does not survive. 5