7 | PROTECTING STATELESS PERSONS FROM ARBITRARY DETENTION IN THE NETHERLANDS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 STATELESSNESS AND DETENTION The increasing use of immigration detention, including for punitive purposes, and the criminalisation of irregular migration by a growing number of states, is a concerning global and European trend. This results in increasing numbers of persons being detained for longer than they should, or for reasons that are unlawful. While arbitrary detention is a significant area of concern in general, the unique characteristics associated with stateless persons and those at risk of statelessness make them more likely to be detained arbitrarily, for unduly lengthy periods of time. As the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held in Kim v. Russia, a stateless person is highly vulnerable to be “left to languish for months and years…without any authority taking an active interest in 1 his fate and well-being”. This is mainly because immigration systems and detention regimes do not have appropriate procedures in place to identify statelessness and protect stateless persons. All stateless persons should enjoy the rights accorded to them by international and regional human rights law. Their rights should be respected, protected and fulfilled at all times, including in the exercise of immigration control. The circumstances facing persons with no established nationality – including their vulnerability as a result of their statelessness and the inherent difficulty of removing them – are significant factors to be taken into account in determining the lawfulness of immigration detention. The process of resolving the identity of stateless persons and a stateless person’s immigration