3. According to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, “ n ationality can be deemed to be the political and legal bond that links a person to a given state and binds him to it with ties of loyalty and fidelity, entitling him to diplomatic protection from that state .6 Furthermore, the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Specific Aspects on the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa defines nationality as “a legal bond between a person and a state [that] shall not be understood as a reference to ethnic or racial origin .7 4. In some countries, the term ‘nationality’ is used to denote ‘ethnicity’. However, for the purpose of these Principles, nationality is understood in the international law sense of the word, following the definitions above, as this document is about determining state responsibility at the international level. Consequently, nationality does not indicate a person's ethnic origin nor membership of a religious, linguistic, or ethnic group. This is reflected in numerous international instruments, including Article 2 of the ECN,8 and the African Draft Protocol mentioned above. 5. The 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) is concerned with ameliorating the negative effect, in terms of dignity and security, of an individual being denied a fundamental relationship and status within the system for human rights protection: that of a nationality. As such, the definition of stateless person in Article 1(1) of the Convention incorporates a concept of national which reflects a formal link, of a political and legal character, between the individual and a particular State. This is distinct from a concept of nationality that is concerned with membership of a religious, linguistic or ethnic group. As such, the treaty’s concept of national is consistent with the traditional understanding of this term under international law; that is, persons over whom a State considers it has jurisdiction on the basis of nationality, including the right to bring claims against other States for their ill-treatment.9 Nationality, by its nature, reflects a linkage between the State and the individual, often on the basis of birth on the territory or descent from a national and this is often evident in the criteria for acquisition of nationality in most countries. However, a person can still be a national for the purposes of Article 1(1) despite not being born or habitually resident in the State of purported nationality.10 6. A person may, as a matter of fact, hold the nationality of a State whether or not they have valid official documents recognising that nationality. 7. According to the 1930 Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws (1930 Hague Convention): “ i t is for each State to determine under its own law who are its nationals. This law shall be recognised by other States in so far as it is consistent with international conventions, international custom, and the principles of law generally recognised 6 IACtHR, Proposed Amendments to the Naturalization Provisions of the Political Constitution of Costa Rica (1984), ILR, vol. 79, p. 284. 7 African Union, the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Specific Aspects on the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa (May 2017) https://au.int/sites/default/files/newsevents/workingdocuments/34197-wddraft_citizenship_protocol_en_may2017-jobourg.pdf. 8 European Convention on Nationality (ECN), adopted 6 November 1997, entered into force 1 March 2000, ETS No. 166, available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/166https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list//conventions/treaty/166, Art. 2. 9 UNHCR, ‘Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons’ June , para . 10 UNHCR, ‘Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons’ June ),), para 54. 21