Suzan El Tahhan
Bidoons: A Statelessness Plight in Kuwait
مجلة الدراسات القانونية واالقتصادية
The Guidelines assure that non-state party countries are still committed to some
obligations to stateless populations, stating that:
"Many individuals who meet the stateless person definition in the 1954 Convention
live in countries that are not a party to this treaty. States, which are not yet party to
the Convention may take note of the practice of providing identity papers and travel
documents to stateless persons. These measures have already been adopted in several
other non-Contracting States. In addition, all States would need to comply with their
obligations under international human rights law, such as protection against arbitrary
detention (Article 9(1) of the ICCPR) and, in the case of persons stateless in situ, the
right to enter plus remain in one's "own country”. (Article 12(4) of the ICCPR).64
The 1951 Refugee Convention:
Under Article 1(2) of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee, it is
stated that:
"For the purposes of the present Convention, the term "refugee" shall apply to any
person who as a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and owing to a
well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country
of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself
of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside
the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or,
owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."
Hence, a stateless person may simultaneously be a refugee. Where this is the
case, each claim must be assessed; and both statelessness and refugee status are
explicitly recognized. Similarly, States must apply these standards to stateless
64
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidelines on Statelessness No. 3: The Status of Stateless
Persons at the National Level, 17 July 2012, HCR/GS/12/03, P.7, available at:
http://www.refworld.org/docid/5005520f2.html [accessed 21 December 2015]
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