I. Introduction 1. Since its creation, the United Nations has endeavoured to address and resolve a wide range of issues of an international (1) character, including statelessness. Today, an estimated 12 million people are stateless worldwide: they are not considered as nationals by any State under the operation of its law. Statelessness often limits access to birth registration, identity documentation, education, health care, legal employment, property ownership, political participation and freedom of movement. Denial of these rights impacts not only the individuals concerned but also society as a whole, in particular because excluding an entire sector of the population may create social tension and significantly impair efforts to promote economic and social development. Moreover, statelessness may lead to forced displacement, in particular where it results from arbitrary deprivation of nationality. For all of these reasons, UNHCR needs to redouble its efforts to address statelessness together with States and working in coordination with other UN agencies, regional organizations, NGOs and civil society at large. 2. This Strategy Note provides a framework of action to address statelessness issues. Effective responses to statelessness require a partnership approach. The Note is therefore being published in the belief that it may also prove helpful for governmental, UN and civil society partners, as well as regional organizations. This Note highlights the major issues to be addressed at the field level but is not exhaustive and will be complemented by further guidance on specific doctrinal and policy questions. One area in which additional guidance is required is de facto statelessness. Questions relating to how de facto statelessness is defined and addressed will therefore be dealt with in subsequent guidance. The present Strategy Note is focused principally on de jure statelessness, i.e. statelessness as defined in the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of (2) Stateless Persons and customary international law. II. UNHCR’s Statelessness Mandate 3. UNHCR’s responsibilities for stateless persons began with refugees who are stateless under paragraph 6(A) (II) of its Statute and article 1(A) (2) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Convention), both of which refer to stateless persons who meet the criteria of the refugee definition. UNHCR’s mandate responsibilities concerning statelessness were expanded following the adoption of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention), and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention). General Assembly resolutions 3274 (XXIV) and 31/36 designated UNHCR as the body mandated to examine the cases of persons who claim the benefit of the 1961 Convention and to assist such persons in presenting their claims to the appropriate national authorities. Subsequently, the United Nations General Assembly conferred upon UNHCR a global mandate for the identification, (3) prevention and reduction of statelessness and for the international protection of stateless persons. This mandate has continued to evolve as the General Assembly has endorsed the conclusions of the Executive Committee, notably Executive Committee Conclusion No. 106 of 2006 on “Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of (4) Stateless Persons”. 1 See available population statistics in Annex I. Note that UNHCR is not yet in a position to provide comprehensive statistics on stateless populations worldwide. As a result there is a discrepancy between the reliable country-level data currently available (covering some 6.6 million people as at end 2009) and the estimated stateless population worldwide, approximately 12 million people. 2 Article 1 of the Convention defines a stateless person as someone “who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.” The International Law Commission has stated that this definition now forms part of customary international law. See Report of the International Law Commission, Text of the draft articles on diplomatic protection adopted by the Commission on first reading: commentary on article 8, General Assembly, Fifty-ninth session, Supplement No. 10 (A/59/10), 2004, at page 46. 3 See UNGA resolutions A/RES49/169 of 23 December 1994 and A/RES/50/152 of 21 December 1995. The latter endorses Executive Committee Conclusion No. 78 (XLVI) – 1995. 4 See UNGA resolution A/RES/61/137 of 19 December 2006. 4