34 It is also regrettable that despite 252 States making 360 pledges at the most recent UNHCR High-Level Segment on Statelessness in October 2019, Australia failed to make any pledge or commitment to reduce or address statelessness.57 ISSUE 1: Australia Lacks a Statelessness Determination Procedure, or Specific Visa Category to Recognise and Protect Stateless Persons 35 As noted above, Australia does not have a procedure within its legislative framework to identify and protect ‘stateless persons.’58 36 Despite no explicit requirement in the 1954 Convention, it is intrinsic to the notion of identifying stateless persons that a procedure to determine who is stateless, is necessary. As noted by the UNHCR: “Whilst the 1954 Convention establishes the international legal definition of ‘stateless person’ and the standards of treatment to which such individuals are entitled, it does not prescribe any mechanism to identify stateless persons as such. Yet, it is implicit in the 1954 Convention that States must identify stateless persons within their jurisdictions so as to provide them appropriate treatment in order to comply with their Convention commitments”.59 37 This sentiment was further iterated in a Guidance Note of the Secretary-General that ‘state based stateless determination procedures are an implicit requirement of state parties meeting their obligations under the 1954 and 1961 Conventions’.60 38 Currently, Australia has no such process, and as such, key treaty obligations are yet to be implemented into domestic law. Without any mechanisms to determine statelessness, many affected persons can remain forever ‘legally invisible’ and be denied basic rights. As noted by Foster, McAdam and Wadley: “While some (stateless persons) may be discovered through the refugee status determination process, others may go undetected. Even when a stateless person is identified, there is no domestic legal status that attaches unless he or she is also recognised as a refugee or beneficiary of complementary protection. As such, he or she may be at risk of indefinite detention, or only be eligible for a temporary visa with a limited set of entitlements”.61 39 A statelessness determination procedure is required, as while many stateless persons may receive protection as a refugee for other reasons, ‘statelessness on its own is not a ground for refugee protection’.62 Furthermore, the refugee status determination process does not provide an avenue for in situ stateless populations. 57 ‘Results of the High-Level Segment on Statelessness’, UNHCR (Web Page) <https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/results-of-the-high-levelsegment-on-statelessness/#>. 58 Foster, McAdam and Wadley, ‘The Protection of Stateless Persons in Australian Law: The Rationale for the Statelessness Determination Procedure’ (n 33) 421. 59 UNHCR, Handbook on the Protection of Stateless Persons under the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (2014) 6 [8]. 60 Guidance Note of the Secretary-General, The United Nations and Statelessness (November 2018) 7. 61 Foster, McAdam and Wadley, ‘The Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness in Australia: An Ongoing Challenge’ (n 5) 460. 62 Foster, McAdam and Wadley, ‘The Protection of Stateless Persons in Australian Law: The Rationale for the Statelessness Determination Procedure’ (n 33) 455. 8