present a heightened risk of statelessness. The paper goes on to specifically examine the situation of low-lying island States, and the risk of statelessness that might result from their submersion. The paper concludes by exploring possible actions to prevent statelessness. It is clear, that in the absence of adequate protection or migration regimes,21 the prevention of statelessness does not per se entail the granting of a secure status in other States. As elaborated below, however, limited regimes of protection in cases of natural disasters as well as labour migration schemes could be part of comprehensive multilateral arrangements to prevent statelessness and ensure durable solutions. The conclusion of such arrangements could additionally have an effect on current migration flows and offer greater predictability for the future.22 2. Statehood and statelessness According to the definition in Article 1 of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (hereafter, ‘the 1954 Convention’), a stateless person is ‘a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law’.23 Should a State cease to exist, citizenship24 of that State would then cease, as there would no longer be a State of which a person could be a citizen.25 In the case of low-lying island States, the question would thus be whether a State would continue to exist if its entire territory were submerged and/or if the entire population and the government were in exile.26 There is, on the other hand, no internationally agreed upon definition of a State.27 Article 1 of the 1933 Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States lists a defined territory, along with a permanent population, a government and the capacity to enter into relations 21 See, for example, ‘Climate change, migration and displacement: Who will be affected?’, Working paper submitted to a meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA 6) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by the informal group on Migration/ Displacement and Climate Change of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 31 October 2008, available online at: http://www.unhcr.org/4a1e4fb42.html (last accessed 25 January 2011). 22 See Gemenne and Shen, note 11 above. 23 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. New York, 360 UNTS 117, 28 September 1954, entered into force 6 June 1960. According to the International Law Commission, the definition of a stateless person in the 1954 Convention ‘can no doubt be considered as having acquired a customary nature’. See Draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection (With Commentaries), in ‘Report of the International Law Commission: Fifty-eighth session (1 May – 9 June and 3 July – 11 August 2006)’, UN Doc. A/61/10, 49. 24 The terms ‘citizenship’ and ‘nationality’ are used interchangeably here in the sense of a legal bond with a particular State. 25 This was also confirmed by the International Law Commission: ‘[w]hen a state disappears by dissolution, its nationality also disappears’, International Law Commission, Draft Articles on Nationality of Natural Persons in Relation to the Succession of States (With Commentaries), 3 April 1999. Supplement No. 10, UN Doc. A/54/10, 43, Commentary (1) to Art. 23, available online at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4512b6dd4.html (last accessed 25 January 2011). 26 The term ‘in exile’ is the term generally used to refer to governments outside their territory. According to the Webster-Merriam Dictionary, this may comprise both voluntary and forced absence from a home country; see Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, available online at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exile (last accessed 25 May 2011). Since persons from affected island States have already or are likely to continue to migrate to other States, where they may acquire permanent residence and citizenship rights, the term ‘exile’ should be understood with reference to a cultural, social and spiritual home country. 27 Crawford notes a number of attempts to define statehood which failed on the issue of recognition, see J. Crawford, The Creation of States in International Law (2nd edn., Oxford: OUP, 2006) 31, 37-45. 4