9. Furthermore, a member State of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Cambodia is a signatory to the 2012 ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. Although this declaration is a non-binding document, it nonetheless reflects consensus as to the importance of human rights in the region and the right to a nationality (see, article 18 of the 2012 ASEAN Human Rights Declaration). 10. Viet Nam is not a State party to the 1951 Convention relating the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol (“1951 Convention”), the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (“1954 Convention”) or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (“1961 Convention”). Progress Towards Ending Statelessness in Viet Nam 11. Viet Nam has made significant progress towards addressing statelessness for various populations in Viet Nam, through extensive reforms to its nationality law framework and complementary initiatives.10 12. Some examples of such reform include a simplified naturalisation procedure11 and the provision for the reacquisition of Vietnamese nationality after renunciation. 12 13. Despite these important steps, according to the latest statistics published by UNHCR, there were at least 29,522 stateless persons in Viet Nam.13 The profiles and characteristics of the stateless population in Viet Nam, as included within this estimate, are not currently publicly available. Based on previous reporting, this estimate may include former Cambodian refugees and women who became stateless after renouncing their nationality and who did not acquire an alternative nationality through marriage to a foreigner.14 However, there is no publicly available data on the extent to which these groups currently experience statelessness in Viet Nam. 14. The following is an exploration of the vulnerabilities that various other groups face with respect to statelessness and access to fundamental human rights in Viet Nam. However, 10 Lyma Nguyen, Report on Citizenship Law: Vietnam (September 2017) European University Institute <http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/47966/GLOBALCIT_CR_2017_13.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y>; UNHCR and National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, Regional Expert Roundtable on Good Practices for the Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and the Protection of Stateless Persons in South East Asia (2 March 2011) European Country of Origin Information Network <http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1226_1299577934_4d6e09932.pdf>. 11 The simplified naturalised procedure that is assisting former Cambodian refugees in Viet Nam to acquire Vietnamese citizenship. UNHCR, Submission by the UNHCR for the OHCHR’s Compilation Report – Universal Period Review: Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (20 June 2013) Refworld <http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/51c946514.pdf>; Lyma Nguyen, above n 11. 12 This reform addresses statelessness amongst women who renounced their nationality to acquire their foreign spouses’ nationality, but did not in fact acquire a foreign citizenship and became stateless. UNHCR, above n 11; Lyma Nguyen, above n 11. 13 UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2017 (25 June 2018) UNHCR, Annex Table 1 <http://www.unhcr.org/5b27be547.pdf>. 14 UNHCR, above n 11. 4