migrants trying to regularise their immigration status and in the efforts of some to gain release from long periods in immigration detention. Although statelessness is clearly recognised as a concept in British nationality law, there appeared to be no dedicated procedure in immigration law that would allow for a stateless person to be identified and to access a route leading to a permanent solution. 1.1 Structure of the report Chapter 1 will continue to set out the definitions used in the study and its scope. It will also describe the methodology employed in the research. Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of the global causes and consequences of statelessness, as well as UNHCR’s mandate to protect stateless persons. Chapter 3 provides an exhaustive analysis of relevant statistics published by the Home Office and internal management data of the UK Border Agency, the executive agency of the Secretary of State for the Home Department operationally responsible for immigration control and British nationality matters. It considers the accuracy and usefulness of the records held by the agencies with which stateless persons come into contact. Based on its empirical findings, it cautiously identifies a stateless population in the UK. Chapters 4 and 5 examine the identification of stateless persons when they come into contact with UK immigration control, and the degree to which the UK government safeguards the human rights of stateless persons in accordance with its obligations under international law. Chapter 6 analyses the operation of British nationality law and the provisions that prevent and reduce statelessness as required by the 1961 and 1954 Conventions and wider international human rights law. Each chapter starts with a brief summary of content and ends with conclusions and recommendations which are compiled in a final chapter setting out key conclusions arising from the research as a whole. 1.2 Definitions and scope The definition of a stateless person in international law is found in the 1954 Convention, Article 1(1). It provides that a stateless person is a “person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”. The International Law Commission considers that this definition constitutes customary international law.6 It is also the definition given to the term in British nationality law.7 The use of “stateless person” in this report assumes this meaning. 6 See International Law Commission, Commentary on the Draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection 2006, available at: http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/9_8_2006.pdf, p. 49. 7 Hamza v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD), [2010] UKSIAC 23/2005, Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/ docid/4ce2a8022.htm, para. 5. in the United Kingdom 13