Regarding South Africa's progress towards signature and ratification of the treaties: in December 2011, South Africa delivered a pledge at a United Nations ministerial-level conference in Geneva that South Africa would sign and ratify the stateless treaties following an internal consultative process. In November 2012, LHR presented before the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs to encourage South Africa to honour its pledge by the end of 2013.21 The response was positive, but to date no action has followed. The committee expressed concern over how to prevent an ‘explosion’ of statelessness on the territory should South Africa ratify the treaties. In other words, the committee members were concerned that people would destroy their identity documents and passports in hopes of claiming stateless status and protection. LHR highlighted that identification of a stateless person is a process which is not easily open to fraud. Statelessness is a legal status that can be confirmed in collaboration with officials from individuals’ countries of origin and former residence. Furthermore, the potential for fraud is not a sufficient reason to neglect the fundamental human rights and need for protection of the many genuinely stateless persons on the territory. • 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (the 1954 Convention) The 1954 Convention is the cornerstone of the international protection regime for stateless persons. It is the primary international instrument adopted to date to regulate and improve the legal status of stateless persons internationally. The 1954 Convention is part of a broader set of universal and regional standards. However, it is the only legal instrument that establishes the international legal status of 'stateless persons' and addresses directly the practical concerns specific to stateless persons. It not only sets out the definition of a stateless person, but also specifies the treatment to be accorded to stateless persons by state parties. Legal framework on nationality and statelessness in South Africa South Africa can appeal to these treaty regimes only as examples of accepted international standards of best practice. The 1954 Convention protects stateless people’s basic human rights and needs until their nationality can be resolved, prevents discrimination, requires issuance of identity and travel documents to stateless persons (Article 28), prevents expulsion save on grounds of national security or public order (Article 31) and requires facilitation of naturalisation of stateless persons (Article 32). It further provides in Article 25 that, 21 See a summary of LHR's presentation here: http://www.lhr.org.za/news/2012/ press-statement-lhr-makes-statelessness-submissions-parliament (accessed 3 October 2013). Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide 17