Unit 10 Protecting stateless persons (2): The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Summary This unit aims to familiarise students with the legal regime for the protection of stateless persons offered by the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. A brief history of the Convention is given and the influence of the drafting history of the instrument, including how the 1951 Refugee Convention influenced its content. The current standing, including the number of State parties and recent calls for further accessions, of the 1954 Convention is also presented. The definition of a stateless person set out in the 1954 Convention is recalled and the advantages and disadvantages of this focus on de jure statelessness (discussed in unit 3) can be briefly reviewed. Through a close inspection of the text of the 1954 Convention, students are asked to consider the instrument’s strengths and weaknesses. Attention is thereby paid, in particular, to the effect of offering rights at different “levels of attachment” to the State and at different “standards of treatment”. Students discover, for instance, that although the 1954 Convention requires a stateless person to be lawfully present or lawfully staying in order to enjoy a number of the rights, the instrument does not deal with the question of status or the right to enter and reside in a State party. Students also investigate the inclusion of certain special rights such as access to identity and travel documents and exemption from reciprocity. In addition, students may discuss how the 1954 Convention could be implemented by States – which areas of legislation and policy are affected and what practical concerns may arise. Learning objectives • Discuss the content and approach of the legal regime for the protection of stateless persons established under the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. • Appreciate the influence of the drafting history on the text of the 1954 Convention. • Articulate the strengths of the 1954 Convention – recognise provisions that offer strong and/or important benefits to the protection of stateless persons. • Identify how the 1954 Convention is complemented by international human rights law. Readings and information sources Key readings Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. * 1954 http://www.unhcr.org/3bbb25729.pdf Weis, “The Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons” in International and Comparative Law Quarterly, * P. Vol. 10, 1961, pp. 255-261. http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/cssp/cssp.html S. Goodwin-Gill, Introduction on the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, * G. http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/cssp/cssp.html Gyulai, Forgotten Without Reason: Protection of Non-Refugee Stateless Persons in Central Europe, chapter V on * G. “Protection Status of Non-Refugee Stateless Persons”, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, June 2007. http://www.unhcr.org/497099902.pdf Perks, A. de Chickera, “The Silent Stateless and the Unhearing World: Can Equality Compel Us to Listen?” in * K. The Equal Rights Review, Vol. 3, Equal Rights Trust, 2009. http://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/perks%20and%20chickera.pdf A Guide to Teaching on Statelessness 39