10. Austria is party to the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) and to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention).8 Austria has one reservation in respect of the 1954 Convention, namely that it shall be bound by article 27 of the Convention (concerning the issuance of identity papers) only as regards stateless persons lawfully staying in its territory.9 At the same time, Austria made one declaration, namely to fulfil its obligation under article 28 by issuing specific ‘Foreigners’ Passports’ (Fremdenpass) to stateless people lawfully staying on its territory.10 Austria maintains two reservations to article 8 of the 1961 Convention, permitting deprivation of nationality even if it results in statelessness where a person voluntarily enters the armed forces of another State or where a person, being in the service of a foreign State, conducts herself in a manner seriously prejudicial to the interests or to the prestige of the Republic of Austria.11 11. Austria retains 11 reservations to the European Convention on Nationality impacting on statelessness.12 More specifically, Austria allows for gender discrimination in the acquisition of nationality by descent as it declares that “the term “parents/parents” used in Articles 6 and 7 of this Convention does not, according to the Austrian legislation on nationality, include the father of children born out of wedlock”. Moreover, Austria imposes a six-month age limit on the acquisition of nationality by foundlings as under Article 6, paragraph 1, lit (b), it declares to “retain the right that foundlings found in the territory of the Republic are regarded, until proven to the contrary, as nationals by descent only if they are found under the age of six months”. Austria also provides no facilitation of naturalisation for stateless people as under Article 6, paragraph 4, lit (g), it declares to “retain the right not to facilitate the acquisition of its nationality for stateless persons and recognised refugees lawfully and habitually resident on its territory (i.e. main domicile) for this reason alone.”. Austria also retains the right to deprive a national of their nationality even if this could result in statelessness under the circumstances specified in the Australian Nationality Act.13 12. In 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made the following recommendations to Austria as part of its mapping study on statelessness in Austria: 14 a. 'Establish an accessible, fair and efficient procedure to determine statelessness; b. Designate a centralised authority to assess and take first instance decisions on statelessness; c. Provide guidance to municipalities on the registration of stateless people and persons of undetermined and unknown nationality; d. Improve the collection of statistics on the phenomenon of statelessness in Austria; e. Ensure the early and correct identification of stateless persons and solutions for situations where the State of purported nationality refuses to cooperate; f. Incorporate a new ground of residence for stateless persons in the Austrian Asylum Act; g. Foresee a renewable residence permit with a validity of at least two years for each person recognised as being stateless; h. Establish a legal basis for the automatic acquisition of the Austrian nationality at birth by children born on Austrian territory who would otherwise be stateless; and 8 The 1954 Convention entered into force in Austria on 8 May 2008; The 1961 Convention entered into force in Austria on 13 December 1975. 9 UN Treaty Collections, Status of Treaties, https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsII.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=V3&chapter=5&Temp=mtdsg2&clang=_en#EndDec ; UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Austria, January 2017, available at https://www.refworld.org/docid/58b6e5b14.html, para 101. 10 UN Treaty Collections, Status of Treaties, https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsII.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=V3&chapter=5&Temp=mtdsg2&clang=_en#EndDec; UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Austria, January 2017, para 101. 11 UN Treaty Collections, Status of Treaties, https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=V4&chapter=5&clang=_en; Leonhard Call (ENS Individual Member), Country Profile: Austria, February 2020, 2. 12 Reservations and Declarations for Treaty No.166 - European Convention on Nationality Declarations in force as of today Status as of 06/07/2020, available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/166/declarations?p_auth=KpTCkhdh 13 Ibid. See also: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/austria 14 UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Austria, January 2017, 14 (Executive Summary). 3