1.3 The international legal framework The international legal framework relating to statelessness consists of international and regional instruments. At the international level, two Conventions specifically deal with statelessness: the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (“1954 Convention”)18 and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (“1961 Convention”).19 The 1954 Convention guarantees to persons who are stateless the enjoyment of a minimum set of rights, while the 1961 Convention provides a set of safeguards for states to be included in their nationality laws with a view to ensuring that statelessness is avoided. The 1954 Convention entered into force in 1960 and had 91 State Parties as at 11 July 2019.20 The 1961 Convention entered into force in 1975 and had 73 State Parties as at 11 July 2019.21 In June 2014, UNHCR published the Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons (“the Handbook”),22 which provides interpretative legal guidance for governments, NGOs, legal practitioners, decisionmakers, the judiciary, and others working on statelessness. The Handbook addresses the definition of a stateless person, procedures to determine who is stateless, and the legal status of stateless persons at the national level. UNHCR’s Guidelines on Statelessness No. 423 address the prevention of statelessness at birth under the 1961 Convention. Developed on the basis of consultations with international experts and a broad range of stakeholders, the Handbook and the Guidelines will be used in the present report to elaborate upon the obligations under the Conventions. Other international human rights instruments contain provisions relevant to issues relating to nationality and statelessness. As mentioned above, the right to a nationality is one of the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the UDHR. According to the prevailing interpretation of international law,24 while states have the prerogative to decide who their nationals are, this is not absolute. In particular, states must comply with their human rights obligations concerning the granting and loss of nationality, especially those stemming from peremptory norms of international law (jus cogens). Apart from the UDHR, a series of binding international treaties contain provisions on the right to a nationality, on the equal treatment of men and women, and on the prohibition of discrimination, including, but not limited to, the International Covenant on Civil and Political 14 18 UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 360, p. 117, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3840.html 19 UN General Assembly, Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 30 August 1961, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 989, p. 175, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b39620.html 20 Please see United Nations Treaty Collection, 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, available at: https://bit.ly/2JRpC0P 21 Please see United Nations Treaty Collection, 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, available at: https://bit.ly/2MYMOZ8 22 UNHCR, Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, cited above. 23 UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child's Right to Acquire a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 21 December 2012, HCR/GS/12/04, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/50d460c72.html 24 See, e.g., Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, The Hague, 12 April 1930, Article 1, "It is for each State to determine under its own law who are its nationals (...)". See also: Kay Hailbronner, Nationality in public international law and European law, in: Bauböck, Rainer, Acquisition and loss of nationality: Policies and trends in 15 European States, Amsterdam, 2006. MAPPING STATELESSNESS IN POLAND