Stand-alone unit F Statelessness, migration and forced displacement Summary This stand-alone unit explores the interplay between migration, forced displacement and statelessness: how migration and forced displacement can lead to statelessness and vice versa. Students are first provided with an introduction to the concepts of nationality and statelessness. The scale and impact of the problem of statelessness worldwide is discussed and an impression is given of the consequences of statelessness for individuals, communities and States. Next, students take a look at how nationality is attributed by States and at how migration can be a factor in the acquisition and loss of nationality. Through straightforward examples, students are shown how migration leads to an increased risk of conflicts of laws that could result in statelessness. Students are then shown how statelessness can also form a barrier to migration, due to the possible absence of a country to which a stateless person has the right to return. The issue of (prolonged) detention is raised. In addition, examples are provided of how statelessness leads to increased vulnerability to forced displacement, such as through expulsion of denationalised persons. Students are also asked to think about how refugees who formally possess a nationality may be exposed to an increased risk of statelessness and how nationality disputes and statelessness may impact on the implementation of a durable solution to refugee situations. The interplay between statelessness and human trafficking as well as statelessness and irregular migration is also discussed. a refugee and of a stateless person can be compared and contrasted and students can be asked to think about how these definitions and the legal regimes that have been built upon them may interact – i.e. when is a stateless person also a refugee and what does this mean for the application of international legal standards? Students could also be asked to think about the enduring link between statelessness and refugee issues, including such questions as how a finding of statelessness may contribute to the substantiation of a claim to refugee status. If a more in-depth consideration of the overlap, similarities and differences between the issue of statelessness and that of refugees is envisaged, students may be reminded of the shared history of the international community’s response to statelessness and refugee issues and of the parallel development of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The definitions of The relevant legal standards for the avoidance of statelessness in the context of migration are presented, including those relating specifically to refugees, victims of human trafficking and irregular migrants. Finally, students look at the efforts that are being made to combat statelessness and its detrimental effects, including by looking at the role of different national, regional and international actors in addressing this issue. Learning objectives • Describe the problem of statelessness, its scale and consequences. • Explain the ways in which the issues of migration, forced displacement and statelessness interact. the shared history of the international response •to Outline statelessness and refugee issues, including the lasting impact that this has had on relevant legal standards. Discuss the definition of a stateless person and the •definition of a refugee and how these definitions may • Appreciate the different ways in which statelessness and refugee issues may be linked. • Describe how relevant international standards can help to avoid statelessness arising in the context of migration and forced migration. • Identify some of the actors that are involved in tackling statelessness and discuss some of the ways in which they are contributing to a response to this issue. intersect. A Guide to Teaching on Statelessness 17