Recommendations • Initiatives to strengthen the rule of law should include support for procedural safeguards in processes for the issue of national identity documents and passports, including: o the right to reasons in case an application is refused; o support for legal and paralegal assistance to help resolve challenges in establishing a person’s nationality; o access to independent oversight mechanisms, such as a national human rights or independent identification commission, in addition to a right to take a case to the competent courts. • The same rules should apply to all applicants without discrimination regarding the evidence required to prove entitlement to nationality and the alternative forms of evidence that may be accepted for persons lacking birth registration or other existing identity documents. • The design of the initial process of enrolment into an identity system should promote resolution of the situation of stateless persons or those of undetermined nationality by prompting front-desk staff to refer an application from a person whose status is not clear to a senior officer and/or to a specialized status determination mechanism, with paralegal assistance to enable their status to be resolved. Application files should not be closed until a resolution is found. Improve quantitative and qualitative data on statelessness Good quality data are the foundation of development planning, including data on the particular vulnerabilities of marginalized groups. Better quantitative and qualitative data about statelessness is needed to ensure statelessness is included in national and international development agendas. Lack of exact figures should not, however, prevent action to address known causes of statelessness and to protect stateless persons and ensure access to rights and services for all. • The International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS) adopted by the UN Statistical Commission in 2023 provide guidance for national censuses and surveys and for administrative data systems; further guidance can be developed on the interpretation and application of the statistical categories for those whose nationality status is not certain. • Both qualitative and quantitative research is especially needed on the causes and impacts of statelessness, both on those affected and on the broader society, as well as on the impacts of granting nationality to previously stateless persons. 66