6 10.1163/22131035-14020001 | enigbokan The 1954 Convention does not prescribe any procedure for identifying a stateless person.18 However, unhcr states that it is implicit that states must identify stateless persons within their jurisdictions in order to provide them with appropriate treatment to comply with their commitments.19 These standards of treatment can only be applied once a person’s status is identified and recognised. Therefore, it is accepted that states have an obligation to recognise and protect stateless persons.20 The causes of statelessness globally include discriminatory laws based on ethnicity, gender, race and religion.21 For example, citizenship laws based exclusively on patrilineal descent – where mothers are unable to confer nationality on their children – can result in statelessness in instances where the father is stateless, unknown, or unable to transmit his nationality. In addition, a person born to stateless parents can become stateless at birth.22 Other causes include the denial of nationality to abandoned children whose nationality is unknown. Statelessness can also occur as a result of a conflict of nationality laws between different countries. For example, a child may be born in a country that grants citizenship only by descent (jus sanguinis). If the child’s parents are from a different country that follows the principle of only granting citizenship (jus soli) to those born on its territory, the child may end up stateless. The parents’ country may deny citizenship because the child was not born on its territory, while the country of birth may refuse it because the parents are not citizens – leaving the child without a nationality.23 18 19 20 21 22 23 Ibid, para. 8. The unhcr has therefore made efforts by providing guidance through the Handbook on Statelessness to states on stateless determination procedure. Ibid, para. 8. Momoh, (n 11) at 126. Open Society Justice Initiative (osji) v Côte d’Ivoire, Communication 318/06, [2015] achpr 1 (28 February 2015), African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness ‘Factsheet’ https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets /pdf_file/0010/4461076/How-does-someone-become-stateless_factsheet_Feb-2023.pdf accessed 3 October 2025. Ajwang’ Warria and Victor Chikadzi, ‘Statelessness, trauma and mental well-being: Implication for practice, research and advocacy’(2022) 8(3) African Human Mobilty Review 44–45. William Samore, ‘Statelessness as a consequence of the conflict of nationality laws’ (1951) 45(3) The American Journal of International Law 476–477. ‘Sinovuyo Janda, ‘Preventing the Statelessness of Refugee Children through the Statelessness Determination Procedure: Lesson for South Africa’, (llm Thesis, University of Western Cape 2022) 37–38. International Human Rights Law Review (2025) 1–31