Practical Measures to Meaningfully Implement Article 1(1) 2021 marked the 60th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (‘1961 Convention’).2 The 1961 Convention is a cornerstone international treaty in the campaign to end statelessness for the millions of stateless persons — including children — worldwide.3 Australia was one of the first nations to ratify this treaty, which requires that states establish safeguards aimed at reducing statelessness.4 In theory, Australia has shown a firm commitment to implementing such safeguards by enshrining the right of Australian-born stateless children to apply for citizenship in domestic law. In practice, however, little action has been taken to meaningfully address this critical human rights issue. An innovative new legal clinic, launched on the 60th anniversary of the 1961 Convention, aims to address this issue by providing free legal assistance to stateless children in their application for Australian citizenship. This commentary will begin by examining Australia’s obligations to Australian-born stateless children under international and domestic law. It will then outline three key barriers to the practical implementation of these obligations, which operate as obstacles in the path towards meaningfully reducing statelessness. The commentary will conclude by outlining three key practical measures that aim to assist children break the inter-generational cycle of statelessness imposed on them by birth. CHILDHOOD STATELESSNESS AT A GLANCE There is a huge difference in this world for children with citizenship, and those without it.5 Aisha,* Australian-based stateless Rohingya mother of one. The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (‘1954 Convention’) defines a ‘stateless person’ as a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law.6 In effect, this means that stateless persons, including children, are not recognised as ‘belonging’ to any country.7 A third of the world’s stateless population are believed to be children, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (‘UNHCR’) estimating that a 2 3 4 5 6 7 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, opened for signature 30 August 1961, 989 UNTS 175 (entered into force 13 December 1975) (‘1961 Convention’). The most recently available United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (‘UNHCR’) data records 4.2 million stateless people as at 2020; however, the agency notes the true number is believed to be much higher: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2020 (Report, 2021) 50 <https://www.unhcr.org/en-au/statistics/unhcrstats/60b638e37/globaltrends-forced-displacement-2020.html> (‘Global Trends 2020’). Australia acceded to the 1961 Convention (n 2) on 13 December 1973. See ‘4. Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness’, United Nations Treaty Collection (Web Page, 4 November 2021) <https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=V4&chapter=5> (‘UNTC 1961 Convention Page’). A Place to Call Home (n 1) 3. Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, opened for signature 28 September 1954, 360 UNTS 117 (entered into force 6 June 1960) art 1 (‘1954 Convention’). Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, An Overview of Statelessness (Factsheet, 2021) 1. 205