includes where a State precludes a person or group from obtaining or retaining a nationality, where nationality is automatically lost by operation of the law, and where acts taken by administrative authorities result in a person being deprived of a nationality. individual, it covers all other forms of loss of nationality, including those that arbitrarily preclude a person from obtaining or retaining a nationality, particularly on discriminatory grounds, as well as those that automatically deprive a person of a nationality by operation of the law, and those acts taken by administrative authorities that result in a person being arbitrarily deprived of a nationality. 2.2.2. Deprivation of nationality also covers situations where there is no formal act by a State but where the practice of its competent authorities clearly shows that they have ceased to 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. UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5 (2020), para. 9:14 “The prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality also covers situations where there is no formal act by a State but where the practice of its competent authorities shows that they have ceased to consider a particular individual (or group) as a national (or nationals 10. The terminology with regard to deprivation of nationality varies and includes: loss, withdrawal, denial, and stripping of nationality, as well as imputed renunciation of nationality. For the purpose of these Principles, however, any loss, withdrawal or denial of nationality that does not occur at the explicit initiative of the individual in accordance with formal renunciation procedures is considered to be deprivation of nationality. 11. Deprivation of nationality includes situations in which there is no formal act of the State but in which the practice of the authorities responsible for nationality indicates that they have ceased to consider a particular individual (or group) as a national. This interpretation of deprivation of nationality is rooted in the Tunis Conclusions’ interpretation of the Convention on the 15 Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention). This interpretation has been fully adopted in later instruments, such as the UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5 (UNHCR Guidelines No 5).16 It includes, for example, situations in which individuals who were previously documented as 14 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, May 2020, HCR/GS/20/05, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ec5640c4.html. The Guidelines provide authoritative guidance on the interpretation of Articles 5 9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. They draw on the Summary Conclusions of the Expert Meeting on Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention and Avoiding Statelessness Resulting from Loss and Deprivation held in Tunis, Tunisia on 31 October- November “Tunis Conclusions and the Expert Meeting on Developments related to Deprivation of Nationality held in Geneva, Switzerland on 5-6 December 2019. 15 UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR , ’Expert Meeting - Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention and Avoiding Statelessness resulting from Loss and Deprivation of Nationality‘ Tunis Conclusions March , available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/533a754b4.htmlhttps://www.refworld.org/docid/533a754b4.html. 16 UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, “UNHCR Guidelines No. May available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ec5640c4.html, para 9. 23