(1) When the exercise of a right by a stateless person would normally require the assistance of authorities of a foreign country to whom he cannot have recourse, the Contracting State in whose territory he is residing shall arrange such assistance be afforded to him by their own authorities. (2) The authority or authorities mentioned in paragraph I shall deliver or cause to be delivered under their supervision to stateless persons such documents or certifications as would normally be delivered to aliens by or through their national authorities. This could include provision of services to the stateless such as birth registration, marriage registration and issuance of police clearances. The Convention addresses a variety of matters which have an important effect on day-to-day life such as gainful employment, public education, public relief, labour legislation and social security. In ensuring that such basic rights and needs are met, the Convention provides the individual with stability and improves the quality of life of the stateless person. Ratification of this Convention would require that South Africa establish a stateless status determination procedure and provide certain minimum protections to stateless persons. It would greatly improve the status of stateless persons in South Africa, given that few protections currently exist in law. It would help relieve the overburdened asylum system by taking stateless persons without a refugee claim out of that system. Finally, it would benefit South African civil society and promote social cohesion by providing measures of security to extremely marginalised and vulnerable persons who cannot be deported and who need a durable solution. The standard of treatment that signatory states must provide to the stateless is essentially the same as that required for refugees under the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol (1951 Refugee Convention). The Refugee Convention is, however, more favourable than the Statelessness Convention in certain respects, most notably because of its prohibition against refoulement and its requirement of nonpenalization for illegal entry.22 22 18 UNHCR, Massey, H ‘UNHCR and De Facto Statelessness’ 2010 http:// www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4bbf387d2.pdf (accessed 11 July 2012) 15. Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide