The determination of statelessness 119 Instead of relying exclusively on the 1954 Convention in these two aforementioned group situations, human rights law may offer some answers. In particular, the legal concept of one’s ‘own country’ and the rights attaching thereto may prove to be useful.10 Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, for example, grants individuals the right to freedom of movement including the right to leave and to return to one’s ‘own country’. The UN Human Rights Committee (UN-HRC) has held that this concept of ‘own country’ applies not only to nationals but also embraces any non-national who due to their ‘special ties to or claims in relation to a given country, cannot be considered to be a mere alien’. The examples provided by the UN-HRC by way of illustration include individuals who have been stripped of their nationality in violation of international law; whose country of nationality has been incorporated in or transferred to another national entity, whose nationality is being denied them; stateless persons arbitrarily deprived of the right to acquire the nationality of the country they reside in; as well as longterm residents. It is important to underline that the UN-HRC left this concept open and explicitly recognized that ‘other factors may in certain circumstances result in the establishment of close and enduring connections between a person and a country’,11 giving rise to rights.12 Even with this guidance, establishing whether a certain stateless population is residing in its ‘own country’ may prove to be challenging in practice. In any event, states should apply an inclusive approach in this respect and move towards reduction of statelessness wherever possible. This approach gains fi rm support from international law, in particular based on the universally recognized objective of reducing statelessness13 on the one hand, and the right to a nationality,14 including every child’s right to acquire a nationality,15 on the other, as embedded in international instruments. 10 11 12 13 14 15 See also Geneva Conclusions, p. 2. UN-HRC, ‘CCPR General Comment No. 27: Article 12 (Freedom of Movement)’, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.9 (2 November 1999), para. 20. Ibid. Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, New York, 30 August 1961, in force 13 December 1975, 989 UNTS 175, preamble; Council of Europe, European Convention on Nationality, Strasbourg, 6 November 1997, in force 1 March 2000, ETS 166, Art. 4(b). Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Paris, 10 December 1948, GA Res. 217A(III), UN Doc. A/810 at 71, Art. 15(1); American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), San Jose, 22 November 1969, 18 July 1978, OAS Treaty Series No. 36, Art. 20; European Convention on Nationality, Art. 4(a). Convention on the Rights of the Child, New York, 20 Nov. 1989, in force 2 September 1990, 1577 UNTS 3, Art. 7(1). 9781107032446c05_p116-143.indd 119 6/16/2014 3:12:01 PM