Chapter 1: Introduction and methodology “Being stateless is like not belonging, not having somewhere to reside completely — not having that right. A feeling of limbo, the feeling of hanging in the air.” — Amir Although it is not a new phenomenon, statelessness has received unprecedented global attention in recent years, as the serious human rights implications for individuals without nationality have been increasingly acknowledged by the international community. The causes of statelessness are many and varied, including discrimination, persecution, state succession, and gaps in citizenship laws, but at its core, statelessness involves what German philosopher Hannah Arendt famously described as the denial of a person’s ‘right to have rights’2. Denial or deprivation of nationality can have widespread, often intergenerational implications for an individual’s ability to live a dignified life. Despite recognition by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and many state and non-state actors of the imperative to reduce statelessness, the number of affected people—conservatively estimated at 4 million people globally—continues to rise. Australia has received stateless people since at least the Second World War and is home to thousands of stateless people today. Australia has signalled a strong commitment to reducing statelessness and protecting stateless people by ratifying both of the key international treaties on this issue; the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (‘1954 Convention’) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (‘1961 Convention’).3 Indeed, Australia was one of the first states to ratify the 1961 Convention and implemented one of its key articles into Australian domestic law.4 Furthermore, in 2011 Australia pledged to ‘better identify stateless persons and assess their claims’, 5 and in 2023 reaffirmed its commitment to addressing statelessness and protecting stateless people at the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum.6 Yet, notwithstanding these commitments, there is little debate, knowledge or public awareness of statelessness in Australia. Despite the fact that stateless people have for decades sought protection in Australia—in some years in considerable numbers—they are for the most part not officially ‘counted’ or recognised by government agencies. Not only does this suggest a protection gap for stateless people, but it presents a serious challenge to robust, transparent and principled public administration. Decision makers lack a clear framework for determining firstly whether a person is stateless, and secondly what institutional responses should flow to the individual from such a finding. This Project, the first comprehensive study of statelessness in Australia, responds to this lacuna in knowledge and understanding. It rests on the hypothesis that the failure to officially account for stateless people does not obviate the need to acknowledge, assess and otherwise respond to their arrival and/ or presence and that it is both necessary and possible to develop a coherent framework to address statelessness in Australia. Understanding the nature and scope of the challenge in Australia is a crucial first step towards developing such coherence. Understanding Statelessness in Australia | Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness 9