consider a person as a national, including where authorities persistently refuse to issue or renew documents, or in cases of confiscation of identity documents and/or expulsion from the territory coupled with a statement by authorities that a person is not considered a national. 2.3. Statelessness 2.3.1. The term “stateless person means a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. 2.3.2. Establishing whether a person is considered as a national under the operation of a State’s law requires a careful analysis of how the competent authority of a State applies its nationality laws in an individual’s case in practice; it is a mixed question of law and fact. 3. The right to a nationality 3.1. Every person has the right to a nationality. 3.2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality nor denied the right to change their nationality. 4. Basic rule 4.1. States shall not deprive persons of nationality for the purpose of safeguarding national security. 4.2. Where a State, in exception to this basic rule, provides for the deprivation of nationality for the purpose of safeguarding national security, the exercise of this exception should be interpreted and applied narrowly, only in situations in which it has been determined by a lawful conviction that meets international fair trial standards, that the person has conducted themselves in a manner seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the state. 4.3. The exercise of this narrow exception to deprive a person of nationality is further limited by other standards of international law. Such limitations include: 4.3.1. 4.3.2. 4.3.3. 4.3.4. 4.3.5. The avoidance of statelessness; The prohibition of discrimination; The prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality; The right to a fair trial, remedy and reparation; and Other obligations and standards set forth in international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law. 4.4. This basic rule also applies to the deprivation of nationality for other purposes, which serve as proxies to the purpose of safeguarding national security, as well proxy measures, which 12