INTRODUCTION This report is completed at the request of UNHCR in pursuit of its mandate with respect to preventing and reducing statelessness around the world, as well as to protect the rights of stateless people. As a State Party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (“1961 Convention”),1 the Government of Canada has recognized UNHCR’s role pursuant to Article 11 of the 1961 Convention to present stateless cases to the national authorities. BACKGROUND TO THE REPORT In 2003, the Government of Canada responded to the UNHCR’s “Questionnaire on Statelessness Pursuant to the Agenda for Protection”, which sought input from States on the steps they have taken to reduce statelessness and to meet the protection needs of stateless persons. 2 In response to the questionnaire, the Government of Canada outlined several reasons for not acceding to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (“1954 Convention”).3 The reasons include: the 1951 Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (“1951 Convention”) largely duplicates the 1954 Convention; Canadian law contains all the necessary safeguards to cover adequately the situation of stateless persons; and finally, accession to the 1954 Convention would be a pull-factor for stateless persons and would encourage those inside Canada to renounce their citizenship in order to remain in Canada.4 In general, the Government of Canada’s assessment is that Canada’s refugee and immigration laws, as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and other laws and regulations, currently provide the protection standards as outlined in the 1954 Convention.5 In light of the Government of Canada’s response to the Questionnaire, UNHCR Canada commissioned a report by Andrew Brouwer titled, Statelessness in the Canadian Context.6 The report was published in 2003 and updated in 2012. The report examined the context in which statelessness in Canada may arise, the international legal framework on statelessness, and how statelessness is addressed in Canadian law and practice. On the latter aspect, the report surveyed how Canadian law works in practice with respect to: avoiding statelessness; naturalization and immigration programs; providing travel documents to stateless persons; the inadequacy of Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 30 August 1961, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 989, p. 175, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b39620.html (entered into force 13 December 1975, accession by Canada 17 July 1978) [1961 Convention] 2 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Final Report Concerning the Questionnaire on Statelessness Pursuant to the Agenda for Protection. Steps taken by States to Reduce Statelessness and to Meet the Protection Needs of Stateless Persons, March 2004, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/405f09834.html [UNHCR Questionnaire Report] 3 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 360, p. 117, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3840.html [1954 Convention]. 4 See UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statelessness in the Canadian Context: An updated discussion paper, March 2012, at p. 32, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4facb7a62.html [Statelessness in the Canadian Context]; and Nicole LaViolette, “The Principal International Human Rights Instruments to Which Canada has not Acceded”, (2006) 24 Windsor Y.B. Access Just. 267-324 at 278 [LaViolette]. 5 LaViolette, ibid. 6 Statelessness in the Canadian Context, supra note 4. 1 3 3