Overview An additional USD 3 million has been allocated to implement the Global Action Plan in 2015. UNHCR welcomes continued support from donors to end statelessness. contribute to political and social tensions. The exclusion and denial of rights to large populations because they are stateless can impair the economic and social development of States. In addition to its regular staff, UNHCR is also deploying more than 20 specialists around the world to work with UNHCR teams, governments, non-governmental organizations and stateless communities. These include eight regional statelessness officers, protection staff in countries with large stateless and at-risk populations and short-term deployees under a specialized roster of the Surge Protection Capacity Project. Under international law, States set the rules for acquisition, change and withdrawal of nationality. At the same time, the discretion of States with regard to nationality is limited by obligations under international treaties to which they are a party, customary international law and general principles of international law. The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons is the cornerstone of the international protection regime for stateless people. Specific obligations relating to the prevention and reduction of statelessness are established under the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Background WHAT IS STATELESSNESS AND WHY MUST IT BE BROUGHT TO AN END? A stateless person is someone who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. At least 10 million people worldwide continue to suffer the privations and indignity of being denied nationality. Statelessness may occur for a variety of reasons, including discrimination against particular ethnic or religious groups or on the basis of gender; the emergence of new States and transfers of territory between existing States (State succession); and conflict of nationality laws. Whatever the cause, statelessness has serious consequences for people in almost every country and in all regions of the world. Stateless persons are often denied enjoyment of a range of rights such as identity documents, employment, education and health services. Statelessness can lead to forced displacement just as forced displacement can lead to statelessness. It can also In addition, a range of human rights instruments recognize the right to a nationality, albeit with varying formulations. These instruments include: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Global Action Plan is based on the standards contained in these international treaties (please see Annex 2). U N H C R > G LO B A L AC T I O N P L A N TO E N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S : 2 0 1 4 – 2 0 2 4 7