EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR ASYLUM 6.5. Nationality and cessation of international protection The cessation clauses correspond to circumstances under which a person is no longer a refugee or beneficiary of subsidiary protection because international protection is no longer necessary or justified. The rationale behind the cessation clauses is that international protection is a ‘protection of substitution’. When it is established that the person is no longer in need of protection because they can avail themself of the protection of their country of nationality or because it is established that they can safely return to their country of former habitual residence, the protection status is withdrawn ( 100). Related EUAA publications The cessation clauses are provided in Article 11(1) and 16 QR. For further information on how to assess and apply the cessation, consult EASO, Practical Guide on the Application of Cessation Clauses, November 2021 and EASO, Ending international protection — Judicial analysis, Second edition, 2021. 6.6. Exclusion based on the holding of rights and obligations attached to the possession of a nationality by an applicant who has taken up residence An applicant who resides in a third country of which they are not a national, but who enjoys a status in that country that comprises rights and obligations that are the same or equivalent to those of its nationals, may be excluded from refugee status based on Article 12(1)(b) QR and Article 1E Refugee Convention. The applicant is considered not to be in need of refugee protection as they benefit, in practice, from the national protection of that third country. Article 12(1)(b) QR – Exclusion of refugee status 1. A third-country national or a stateless person shall be excluded from being a refugee where that third-country national or stateless person: (…) (b) is recognised by the competent authorities of the country in which third-country national or stateless person has taken up residence as having the rights and obligations which are attached to the possession of the nationality of that country, or equivalent rights and obligations. (100) Article 14(1)(a) and (4) QR and recitals 64 and 65 QR. 64