The Plight of the Rightless: Mapping and Understanding Statelessness in Tripoli-V1.3 Kick-start the regulation process for the more straightforward cases of nonregistered individuals born to a Lebanese father, even if naturalised in 1994. Non-registration is the lead cause of statelessness in Tripoli. A non-registered stateless is a person born to a Lebanese father and whose birth has not been registered by neither of their parents. Results show that two thirds of the stateless people currently living in Tripoli fall into this category. The majority of Tripoli’s stateless are of obvious Lebanese origin and have been deprived of their right to belong to a national community. In principle, these individuals should regularize their cases in a short period of time as the solution is straightforward. They can file a late birth registration lawsuit and acquire the Lebanese citizenship once all required documents are available. However, in practice, procedures are slow and cumbersome with boundless timelines, high costs, and long waiting periods that often discourage families and push them to resort to fraud and bribery. These procedures can be reviewed through a draft law that addresses the issues of fees, costs, deadlines, delays and documentation, creates a special administrative process resolving statelessness cases without the need to resort to courts and sets up simplified means of proof of lineage and nationality. This measure should cover stateless sons of fathers naturalised in 1994 which is effective and legally enforceable. Reinvigorate the efficiency of inter-ministerial coordination by addressing bureaucratic dysfunctions and introducing enforceable deadlines. Most stateless families in Tripoli with ongoing lawsuits complain about endless bureaucratic delays and lack the legal knowledge to accurately describe which stage their lawsuit has reached. There is a need to conduct an extended investigation into current lawsuits in order to identify the type of legal and administrative impediments applicants are facing. In parallel, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice can remedy to administrative delays by introducing internal deadlines for inquiries, communication, and investigation involving the Civil Status Officer, the General Security, and the Committee of Cases at the Ministry of Justice. Deadlines can also be set for the enforcement of court decisions by the Directorate of Personal Status. A complaint mechanism at the Ministry of Interior can allow stateless persons with pending cases before the judiciary to report breaches of specified delays and deadlines. Introduce more lenient documentation requirements for acquiring nationality, including the introduction of alternative acceptable documents for proof of nationality. Birth or marriage certifications and other similar proofs are not always available for stateless people. It is often this unavailability that rendered them stateless in the first place. A clear list and admissibility criteria for alternative documents in lieu of such documents can be produced and promoted. Such criteria (school certificates, medical records, vaccination booklets, Mukhtar reports, etc.) can then be recognized by the judiciary as potential proof that could contribute to a case’s success. Well-articulated credibility indicators for testimonials whenever documents are not available (such as specificity, efficiency and consistency of information) can also be developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the General Security. All of these items will help reduce the risk of arbitration in the “power of appreciation” granted to judges while deciding on sensitive cases such as statelessness. Empower the stateless and capacitate them to act proactively towards improving their life situation. 7