Manila, Philippines | 18-19 November 2011 often found among people who live in chronic poverty, because they lack economic opportunities. Often they lack any identity documentation which exposes them to exploitation or people smugglers. Statelessness not only imperils the human rights of affected populations, but also carries multiple consequences for States at the national, regional and global level. Statelessness and International Human Rights Law The Workshop provided an opportunity to review the international legal framework for protecting the right to a nationality and preventing and reducing statelessness. A stateless person is defined in international law as “a person who is not considered the national of any state under the operation of its law”. International human rights law aims to prevent statelessness. This ambition is reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which recognizes that “everyone has the right to a nationality” and that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied his rights to nationality”. Every ASEAN Member State has accepted international legal obligations to help to realise the right to a nationality by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of Universal Declaration of Discrimination Against Women Human Rights, Article 15 states (CEDAW). In addition, several ASEAN that Member States are parties to the (1) Everyone has the right to a International Covenant on Civil and nationality. Political Rights (ICCPR) and the (2) No one shall be arbitrarily Convention on the Elimination of Racial deprived of his nationality nor Discrimination (CERD), which contain denied the right to change his other relevant provisions. These nationality. instruments provide an important legal framework that can help address statelessness in the region. For example, CRC and ICCPR both provide that all children within the territory of State parties and subject to its jurisdiction must be registered at birth, and that all children have the right to acquire a nationality.  Furthermore each of these treaties require that the right to a nationality should be enjoyed without discrimination. CEDAW includes specific guarantees to ensure that women enjoy equal 7