With respect to interpreting the plain language of the text of the 1961 Convention, it is important to note that the 1961 Convention was drafted in five official United Nations languages (Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and that all five language versions are equally authentic. There are some minor discrepancies in meaning between the different language versions but these are resolved through application of the rules of treaty interpretation and, in particular, by recourse to the meaning which best reconciles the texts, having regard to the object and purpose of the treaty.5 The provisions of the 1961 Convention must be read and interpreted in light of additional obligations that Contracting States have under other treaties to which they are party,6 as well as those they have as a matter of customary international law. These include developments on the fundamental right to a nationality and the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality, as well as subsequent developments in international human rights law generally. These issues will be discussed in Part III below. Under Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention, the term stateless person means “a person who is not considered a national by any State under the operation of its law.” The International Law Commission has concluded that this definition is part of customary international law.7 Accordingly, wherever the term “stateless” is used in the 1961 Convention and in these Guidelines, the definition according to Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention is the relevant definition. C. Defining loss and deprivation of nationality The 1961 Convention generally uses the expression “loss of nationality” in Articles 5-7 to describe withdrawal of nationality that occurs automatically by operation of law (“ex lege”). The term “deprivation” is used in the 1961 Convention in Articles 8 and 9 to describe situations where the withdrawal is initiated by the authorities of the State. These Guidelines will generally use the terms “loss” and “deprivation” as they are used in the 1961 Convention, and the term “withdrawal of nationality” will be used to encompass both loss and deprivation of nationality. It is important to note that different actors may use these terms interchangeably and that the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality encompasses both loss and deprivation of nationality, including where a State arbitrarily precludes a person or group from obtaining or 5 ibid. 1961 Convention, Article 13: “This Convention shall not be construed as affecting any provisions more conducive to the reduction of statelessness which may be contained in the law of any Contracting State now or hereafter in force, or may be contained in any other convention, treaty or agreement now or hereafter in force between two or more Contracting States.” 7 International Law Commission, Draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection with commentaries, Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 2006 Vol. II (Part Two), http://www.refworld.org/docid/525e7929d.html: The text of Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention is used in the Draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection to provide a definition of stateless person. The International Law Commission stated in the commentary to Draft Article 8 that the definition in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention can “no doubt be considered as having acquired a customary nature”. 6 UNHCR > GUIDELINES ON STATELESSNESS NO.5 3