The 1954 Convention foresees that stateless persons who are “lawfully in” a State party (in French “se trouvant régulièrement”), are entitled to, inter alia, protection from expulsion (Article 31).147 For stateless persons to be “lawfully in” a State party, their presence in the country needs to be authorized by the State. The concept encompasses both presence which is explicitly sanctioned and also that which is known and not prohibited, taking into account all personal circumstances of the individual. The duration of presence can be temporary. This interpretation of the terms of the 1954 Convention is in line with its object and purpose, which is to assure the widest possible exercise by stateless persons of the rights contained therein. As confirmed by the drafting history of the Convention, applicants for statelessness status who enter a determination procedure are therefore “lawfully in” the territory of a State party. By contrast, an individual who has no immigration status in the country and declines the opportunity to enter a statelessness determination procedure is not “lawfully in” the country.148 3.2 National legal framework As mentioned in Chapter 2.1.2, Lithuania acceded to the 1954 Convention on 7 February 2000, without reservation and the 1961 Convention on 22 July 2013, with one declaration.149 It is also party to other human rights instruments containing provisions of relevance to the prevention and reduction of statelessness, and protection of stateless persons. These include the ICCPR, the CRC, the CEDAW, the ICERD, the ICESCR and the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Lithuania is also a party to the ECHR, which applies to stateless persons as well as citizens. Lithuania has signed several readmission agreements that envisage the return of persons, including stateless persons. Bilateral agreements with Austria and France explicitly apply to stateless persons in addition to third-country nationals. Importantly, these agreements are inapplicable to stateless persons who have been determined to be stateless and have been granted protection in accordance with the 1954 Convention.150 So, for example, the French authorities can return a stateless person staying in France irregularly to Lithuania if he or she came to France from Lithuania or is in possession of a visa issued by the Lithuanian authorities. Lithuania can do the same to stateless persons resident in France. However, if such a person has been granted a statelessness status in France, he or she shall not be returned to Lithuania. Agreements with Armenia, Romania, and Germany do not mention stateless persons, but they could be interpreted as including stateless persons in the term “alien,” which in all three agreements is defined as a person who is not a citizen of any of the Contracting States.151 Other agreements apply to stateless persons 147 UNHCR, Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, para 134. 148 Ibid, para 136. 149 Lithuania’s sole declaration reads as follows: “… In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 8 of the Convention, … the Republic of Lithuania declares that the Republic of Lithuania retains the right to deprive a person of his nationality on the grounds of the deprivation of nationality of the Republic of Lithuania, as provided for in paragraphs 4 and 6 of Article 24 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Citizenship.” 150 Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Federal Republic of Austria regarding the readmission of persons who illegally entered the territory of a Contracting State, signed in Vienna on 9 December 1998, Articles 4(1), 4(2.4); Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the French Republic regarding readmission of illegally present persons, signed in Vilnius on 4 December 1998, Articles 5, 6. 151 Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Armenia regarding the readmission of persons whose stay is illegal, signed in Yerevan on 15 September 2003, Articles 1, 4; Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Romania regarding taking back (readmission) of their citizens and aliens, signed in Bucharest on 19 February 2004, Articles 1, 4; Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany regarding the return/transfer of persons (Readmission Agreement), signed in Berlin on 16 December 1998, Article 3.1. U N H C R S TO C K H O L M , M AY 2 0 1 6 43