Foreword Since the first edition of this Handbook was published in 2005, parliamentarians have contributed robustly to the unprecedented progress achieved in the global response to statelessness. There has been a sharp acceleration in the rate of accessions to the two United Nations statelessness conventions, and a trend towards reform of nationality laws to prevent new cases of statelessness and to resolve long-standing statelessness situations. There has also been an increase in efforts to bolster civil registration and nationality documentation systems. Yet the problem of statelessness persists, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that it still affects at least 10 million people around the world. Every year, tens of thousands of children are born stateless because their parents are stateless. Statelessness can occur as a result of discrimination and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, situations of State succession, inadequate civil registration practices, problems in acquiring documents proving nationality and gaps in nationality laws. A stateless person is someone who is not recognized as a national of any country and statelessness has a real and devastating impact on the lives of individuals, their families and communities. Nationality not only provides people with a sense of identity and belonging, but it is also important for full State protection and the enjoyment of many human rights, including education, health care, legal employment, property ownership, political participation and freedom of movement. Indeed, the fundamental importance of the right to nationality is recognized in Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in a number of widely ratified human rights treaties. Left unresolved, statelessness can create social tensions, significantly impair efforts to promote economic and social development and even lead to violent conflict and displacement. While some stateless persons are forced to flee and become refugees, the vast majority remain in countries in which they were born and have lived their entire lives. More needs to be done to alleviate the plight of those living in large-scale protracted situations of statelessness with profound implications for their human rights. Political will and concerted action by governments are key to resolving this. The publication of this Handbook coincides with the launch by UNHCR of a 10-year campaign to end statelessness. Efforts by parliamentarians will be crucial to reaching this ambitious goal. Parliamentarians can help end statelessness by adopting and ensuring the implementation of domestic legislation that is consistent with international law. Nationality laws need to ensure that individuals are not arbitrarily deprived of nationality; that men and women enjoy equality in nationality matters; and that children are granted a nationality in circumstances in which they would otherwise be stateless. Parliamentarians can also promote accession by their States to the two United Nations statelessness conventions, which provide the framework for a concerted international response to the problem. 3