128 Gábor Gyulai a fancy and perfectly equipped concert hall where no concert ever takes place. They are still good for impressing foreign delegations or the press, but they will never reach the objective for which they have been built. The first question to answer, therefore, relates to the initiation of the procedure. In most cases, if a person seeks the recognition of a certain legal status or residence entitlement, it is required that she or he – as the interested person – initiates the procedure that would establish this entitlement (e.g. through submitting an application for asylum, a work visa or naturalization). An important argument against simply applying this general principle to statelessness determination is that even the persons concerned may often have difficulties recognizing or accepting that they are stateless, which may significantly delay their access to a proper legal status.40 This particularly concerns vulnerable groups, such as unaccompanied minors. Another reason for opting for a different approach is the declaratory character of the recognition of statelessness (i.e. the recognition and the consequent grant of a protection status does not create statelessness, it only recognizes this condition).41 It is thus unsurprising that UNHCR argues that ‘Given that individuals are sometimes unaware of statelessness determination procedures or hesitant to apply for statelessness status, procedures can usefully contain safeguards permitting State authorities to initiate a procedure.’42 Nevertheless, there appears to be some general reticence about an ex officio-initiated statelessness determination procedure, the main argument being that a state authority cannot ‘force someone to be stateless’. At the time of writing, only Spain and Moldova provide for such a possibility in their legislation.43 Several avenues are available for states seeking a balance between the two options. For instance, ex officio initiation can be allowed, but the explicit consent of those found to be stateless shall be obtained before recognition. Another option is to limit ex officio initiation to unaccompanied minors, or other groups or individuals lacking 40 41 42 43 See the general characteristics of statelessness (hidden phenomenon, lack of awareness, vulnerability of the population concerned, etc.) as described earlier. See UNHCR, ‘Guidelines on Statelessness No. 1: The defi nition of ’Stateless Person’ in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons’ (20 February 2012), para. 9. UNHCR, ‘Guidelines on Statelessness No. 2: Procedures for Determining whether an Individual is a Stateless Person’, para. 16. Royal Decree 865/2001 of 20 July approving the Regulation for the Recognition of the Status of Stateless Persons, s. 2(1); Act 200 of 16 July 2010, on the Regime of Foreigners in the Republic of Moldova (Legea Nr. 200 din 16.07.2010 privind regimul stră inilor în Republica Moldova), s. 87(1). 9781107032446c05_p116-143.indd 128 6/16/2014 3:12:02 PM