From a Traditional International Law Approach to a Human Rights-Based Approach to Statelessness the other.135 Traditional writers studied statelessness from the State’s perspective as the primary subject of international law, because they considered that the individual was only indirectly linked to the law of nations through their nationality.136 Human rights law fundamentally changed that paradigm by connecting the individual directly to the international legal order. It is true that statelessness as a phenomenon has particular negative consequences for States. It undermines the State’s ability to expel non-nationals, since no other State will feel obliged to admit them. Stateless persons are also not bound by any duty of loyalty to the State in which they reside.137 Nevertheless, it is in the first place individuals who are confronted with the adverse effects of statelessness, ranging from exclusion from society to abuse and violence. From that perspective, statelessness demands that is understood and addressed from the perspective of the individual in need of protection, rather than the State, the grantor of protection. Thus, a human rights-based approach is the only appropriate one. Nevertheless, the current human rights-based approach meets several challenges. The response to statelessness must be tailored to the understanding of the causes of the phenomenon. However, such a response can only be adequately developed if sufficient information exists on these causes, and on their contribution to the creation of statelessness globally. While significant progress has been made in the understanding of the various causes, the actual identification of stateless persons remains poor. As such, no accurate data exists regarding the magnitude of statelessness globally and the proportional contribution of the various causes to the creation of statelessness. The mere estimation of UNHCR that 75 per cent of stateless persons belong to minority groups does not allow for any specifically tailored, legal responses.138 For example, very little information exists on what role discrimination on SOGIESC grounds play in the creation of statelessness, and how many people are affected by it.139 While part of UNHCR’s mandate for stateless persons includes identification,140 its efforts to improve the identification of stateless persons have not been very successful so far. Furthermore, in spite of the weaknesses of the Statelessness Conventions, these instruments remain the primary source of reference to address statelessness today. This is demonstrated by UNHCR’s successful campaigns to promote accessions to the conventions.141 Since human rights law has complemented the conventions, the current legal framework is an incoherent Serena Forlati, ‘Nationality as a human right’ in Alessandro Annoni and Serena Forlati (eds), The Changing Role of Nationality in International Law (Routledge 2013), 19. 136 Lauterpacht (n 39), 489-490. 137 Matthew J Gibney, ‘Statelessness and citizenship in ethical and political perspective’ in Alice Edwards and Laura van Waas (eds), Nationality and Statelessness under International Law (Cambridge University Press 2014), 49-50. 138 UNHCR ‘Background Note on Discrimination in Nationality Laws and Statelessness’ (20 October 2021), 3 <https://www.refworld.org/docid/616fda104.html>. 139 See Thomas McGee, ‘“Rainbow Statelessness” — Between Sexual Citizenship and Legal Theory’ (2020) 2 The Statelessness & Citizenship Review 86. 140 Executive Committee ‘Conclusion on Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons’ (6 October 2006) No. 106(LVII); UNGA ‘Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (19 December 2006) UN Doc A/RES/61/137, para. 4. 141 In 2011, UNHCR organised the Ministerial Intergovernmental Event on Refugees and Stateless Persons, and in 2019, the High-Level Segment on Statelessness. At both events, many States pledged to accede to the Statelessness Conventions. UNHCR ‘Ministerial Intergovernmental Event on Refugees and Stateless Persons Pledges 2011’ (October 2012) <https://www.refworld.org/docid/50aca6112.html>; UNHCR ‘High-Level Segment on Statelessness: Results and Highlights’ (May 2020) <https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5ec3e91b4.pdf>. 135 European University Institute 15