for instance, on Japan,86 South Korea,87 the Philippines,88 Malaysia89 and
Iran.90
While the causes of statelessness are multifarious, the predominant
factors either alone or in combination have largely been consistent over
time. As early as 1949 in its ‘A Study on Statelessness’, the United
Nations identified five causes of statelessness, namely (1) gaps in and
conflicts of domestic legislation; (2) state succession or territorial resettlements; (3) mass emigration caused by changes in the political and social
system of the country of origin; (4) racial, religious, or political persecution; and (5) deprivation of nationality as a penalty.91 As the various
chapters in this volume show, these causes are still relevant to study
statelessness in Asia, but with the added overarching factor of colonialism and its lasting legacies. The following sections will elaborate upon
how this volume further extends our understanding of the causes of
statelessness. We will draw from the 1949 study without closely following
the framework of analysis.
1.5.1 Gaps, Conflicts and Discrimination in National Laws
‘Gaps’ in nationality laws and ‘conflict’ between nationality laws causing
statelessness could arise benignly, simply due to accidental oversight.
Individual cases of statelessness may also result from unintended or
innocuous applications of nationality laws, or gaps between nationality
laws of different countries, given the fact that nationality laws differ
between states. Examples in this book demonstrate this with regard to
Ayane Odagawa et al., ‘Typology of Stateless Persons in Japan: Study Group on Statelessness
in Japan’ (UNHCR December 2017) <www.unhcr.org/jp/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/
2018/01/TYPOLOGY-OF-STATELESS-PERSONS-IN-JAPAN_webEnglish.pdf> accessed
13 September 2023.
87
Chulhyo Kim and Seori Choi, ‘Mapping Statelessness in the Republic of Korea’ (UNHCR
December 2021) <www.refworld.org/docid/61dc11a34.html> accessed 13 September 2023.
88
Brian Barbour, ‘Desk Review on Populations at Risk of Statelessness: Children of
Philippine Descent in a Migratory Setting in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Countries and Persons of Japanese Descent’ (UNHCR Philippines April 2021) <www
.refworld.org/pdfid/6103f4174.pdf> accessed 13 September 2023.
89
M. Bathmaloshanee et al., ‘Report: Statelessness in Malaysia’ (DHRRA Malaysia April
2022) <https://dhrramalaysia.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/STATELESSNESSIN-MALAYSIA-REPORT-05042022_compressed.pdf> accessed 13 September 2023.
90
‘Statelessness in Iran’ (European Network on Statelessness and Institute on Statelessness
and Inclusion November 2019) <https://statelessjourneys.org/wp-content/uploads/
StatelessJourneys-Iran-final.pdf> accessed 13 September 2023.
91
United Nations (n 7) 6–7.
86
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009399555.003 Published online by Cambridge University Press